A good reference to recent studies of the phylogenetic relationships of
Xenopus laevis, at least with respect to other frogs, is a paper by D.C.
Cannatella and R.O. de Sa, 1993, Xenopus laevis as a model organism,
Systematic Biology 42(4): 476-507.
Regarding the relationship of Xenopus and the axolotl, that basically
begs the question of the relationships between frogs and salamanders,
about which there is little real consensus. A recent issue of
Herpetological Monographs, however, will be very helpful in assessing the
problem from both paleontological and molecular perspectives:
Herpetol. Monogr. no. 7, 1993, pp. 1-131. This contains the proceedings
of a symposium entitled "Amphibian relationships--phylogenetic analysis
of morphology and molecules."
Good luck.
jh
________________________________________________________________________
James Hanken
Department of Environmental, Population, and Organismic Biology
University of Colorado, Boulder, CO 80309-0334
James.Hanken at Colorado.EDU voice: 303-492-7185 fax: 303-492-8699
On Fri, 14 Jul 1995, Robert M. Grainger wrote:
> We are examining inductive mechanisms in Xenopus and the axolotl
> and would be grateful if someone might help us with information
> about the approximate evolutionary distance between the two and
> references regarding this point. Thanks for your help.
>>>
