Abstract

The retinal projections of Caiman crocodilus and Crocodylus niloticus were investigated by means of the orthograde axonal transport of either rhodamine beta-isothiocyanate or tritiated proline. In these two species, each tracer revealed contralateral retinal projections to three hypothalamic regions (subventricular gray matter, nucleus suprachiasmaticus, and area optica hypothalami lateralis), five thalamic regions (nuclei ovalis, dorsolateralis anterior, ventrolateralis and ventrobasalis, and lateral geniculate complex, of which six subcomponents can be distinguished), six pretectal regions (nuclei posterodorsalis, lentiformis mesencephali, griseus tectalis, geniculatus pretectalis, area optica commissurae posterior and area optica pretectalis lateroventralis), six outermost layers of the optic tectum, and the nucleus opticus tegmenti. Weak ipsilateral retinal projections have been observed in two hypothalamic nuclei and in the nucleus opticus tegmenti. Comparative analysis with other data show that the contralateral retinal projections of crocodiles are considerably more reptilian than avian. Moreover, crocodiles share with birds an extremely poor contingent of ipsilateral retinal projections.

Talk to us

Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have

Schedule a call

Disclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.