Mit der Publikation über die anatomischen Besonderheiten des Urvogels Archäopteryx legte Wolfgang Schad 1980 den Grundstein zu einer Arbeit, die schliesslich in seiner Dissertation (1993) über die Übergangsformen der Wirbeltiergruppen mündete. Dass in diesen Übergangsformen das Achsenskelett mit Kopf, Wirbelsäu- le und Rumpf auf die Vorfahren, das Gliedmassenskelett dagegen auf die Zukunft der weiteren Evolution deutete, war von anderen Forschern früher schon bemerkt worden, genauso wie die Heterochronie. Diese beschreibt differentielle und unterscheidbare Anfänge von Entwicklungsimpulsen und deren Geschwindigkeiten. Neu bei Schad war der erfolgreiche Versuch, die «Anomalien» als Leistung des Organismus zu beschreiben, der Vergangenheit, Gegenwart und Zukunft zu einem harmonischen Ganzen integriert.
N1 -With the publication of the anatomical details of the prehistoric bird Archae- opteryx Wolfgang Schad laid in 1980 the foundations of work that eventually led to his dissertation on the transitional forms of the vertebrate groups. Other researchers had earlier noticed that, in these transitional forms, whereas the axial skeleton of head, vertebral column and trunk points to the ancestors, the limb skeleton points to the future of further evolution – just like in heterochrony which describes differential and distinguishable onsets of developmental impulses and their speeds. What was new in Schad’s work was his successful attempt to describe the ‘anomalies’ as resulting from the organism itself which integrates the past, present and future into a harmonic whole.
AB -With the publication of the anatomical details of the prehistoric bird Archae- opteryx Wolfgang Schad laid in 1980 the foundations of work that eventually led to his dissertation on the transitional forms of the vertebrate groups. Other researchers had earlier noticed that, in these transitional forms, whereas the axial skeleton of head, vertebral column and trunk points to the ancestors, the limb skeleton points to the future of further evolution – just like in heterochrony which describes differential and distinguishable onsets of developmental impulses and their speeds. What was new in Schad’s work was his successful attempt to describe the ‘anomalies’ as resulting from the organism itself which integrates the past, present and future into a harmonic whole.
ST - Directed Evolution UR - https://dx.doi.org/10.18756/edn.100.59 Y2 - 2024-11-12 10:18:05 ER -