title: Lungs of the first amniotes: why simple if they can be complex?
abstract: We show-in contrast to the traditional textbook contention-that the first amniote lungs were complex, multichambered organs and that the single-chambered lungs of lizards and snakes represent a secondarily simplified rather than the plesiomorphic condition. We combine comparative anatomical and embryological data and show that shared structural principles of multichamberedness are recognizable in amniotes including all lepidosaurian taxa. Sequential intrapulmonary branching observed during early organogenesis becomes obscured during subsequent growth, resulting in a secondarily simplified, functionally single-chambered lung in lepidosaurian adults. Simplification of pulmonary structure maximized the size of the smallest air spaces and eliminated biophysically compelling surface tension problems that were associated with miniaturization evident among stem lepidosaurmorphs. The remaining amniotes, however, retained the multichambered lungs, which allowed both large surface area and high pulmonary compliance, thus initially providing a strong selective advantage for efficient respiration in terrestrial environments. Branched, multichambered lungs instead of simple, sac-like organs were part and parcel of the respiratory apparatus of the first amniotes and pivotal for their success on dry land, with the sky literally as the limit.
authors.affiliation: Institut für Zoologie, Rheinische Friedrich-Wilhelms-Universität Bonn, Bonn 53115, Germany lambertz@uni-bonn.de.
authors.forename: Markus
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Lambertz
authors.affiliation: Institut für Zoologie, Rheinische Friedrich-Wilhelms-Universität Bonn, Bonn 53115, Germany.
authors.forename: Kristina
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Grommes
authors.affiliation: Departamento de Biologia, Faculdade de Filosofia, Ciências e Letras de Ribeirão Preto, Universidade de São Paulo, Ribeirão Preto, SP 14040-901, Brazil.
authors.forename: Tiana
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Kohlsdorf
authors.affiliation: Institut für Zoologie, Rheinische Friedrich-Wilhelms-Universität Bonn, Bonn 53115, Germany Departamento de Biologia, Faculdade de Filosofia, Ciências e Letras de Ribeirão Preto, Universidade de São Paulo, Ribeirão Preto, SP 14040-901, Brazil.
authors.forename: Steven F
authors.initials: SF
authors.lastname: Perry
mesh_terms: D000663:Amphibians / Q000033:anatomy & histology / Q000196:embryology; D000818:Animals; D005075:Biological Evolution; D001717:Birds / Q000033:anatomy & histology / Q000196:embryology; D008168:Lung / Q000033:anatomy & histology* / Q000196:embryology; D008322:Mammals / Q000033:anatomy & histology / Q000196:embryology; D012104:Reptiles / Q000033:anatomy & histology / Q000196:embryology; D012119:Respiration
keywords: Amniota; Lepidosauria; lung evolution; pulmonary anatomy; respiratory apparatus; respiratory biology