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an addendum in which he lists various phenomena which can be explained by frustration theory.

This book is not for the casual reader since much of it consists of the detail of a large number of experimental studies. However, Amsel does try to place his work within the broader context of learning theory and of psychology. In doing so, he is to be congratulated for fostering a unity within the discipline which is today threatened with dismemberment.

M. MURRAY Memorial University of Newfoundland

St. John's Nfld. AIB 3V6

Canada

Visual Behavior

Visual Behavior in Salamanders. (Studies o f Brain Function; vol. 14), Gerhard Roth, 1987. Springer-Verlag Berlin, 301 pp., ISBN 3-540-17870-8 (paper- back), ISBN 0-387-17870-8 (hardback)

The summary found on the back of this book leads the potential reader to believe that anyone "working on visually guided behavior, amphibian neu- rophysiology and ecologically induced behavior" will find Roth's book to be valuable. Unfortunately, this is misleading and could result in reader disap- pointment. The book is aimed at scientists working in the field of visual neu- rophysiology, and those individuals will find a very detailed and thorough review of the available literature on the anatomy of salamander brains, as well as the morphology of their visual and visuomotor centres. Approximately one- third of the book is dedicated to this area of study.

After a brief description of general brain anatomy, Roth goes on to present what is known about projections and pathways in visual and visuomotor areas, and then optic tectum and diencephalon organization. Neurophysiologists concerned with response characteristics in the various visual centres will find a complete presentation of the research to date, organized according to exper- imental methodologies. Throughout all of this text comparisons are made be- tween the urodeles, frogs and toads, and Roth uses clearly labelled figures and illustrations to clarify much of this material.

Ecologists and ethologists will be disappointed with this book. The first chapter was intended to provide an overview of the taxonomy, geography and ecology of urodeles, however, the survey is brief and provides the reader with only a short description of each species' physical characteristics, natural hab- itat and general distribution. Furthermore, visually guided feeding behaviour

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is heavily emphasized and little of the text is dedicated to any other visually guided behaviours. For example, only approximately one page of text de- scribes the role of visual and olfactory cues in the reproductive behaviour of just one species, as studied in the laboratory setting, and only one mention is made, almost as an afterthought, of the animals' reproduction in their natural habitat.

Behaviourists studying the mechanisms involved in visually guided feeding behaviour will find the second chapter useful as a reference. The anatomy, morphology and function ofaU buccal structures involved in feeding are clearly described. Also, a thorough review of prey preferences and prey characteris- tics for those salamanders studied to data is provided. Furthermore, this chapter will be of interest to anyone raising salamanders in a laboratory set- ting as it provides diet information as well as identifying prey item character- istics, such as size, orientation and movement patterns, most likely to induce feeding behaviour. What is known of feeding strategies of larval and adult salamanders of purely aquatic and solely terrestrial species are compared. Data on ontogeny and the role of learning in feeding behaviour are discussed with respect to anuran feeding behaviour.

Sensory physiologists interested in visual processes or receptor mecha- nisms will find that the third chapter covers material on the morphology and function of salamander eyes. Some intriguing differences in the general mor- phology of the eye and sensitivity of retinal receptor cells between salaman- ders of differing life-history strategies are presented. Unfortunately, these dif- ferences between the aquatic and terrestrial species are not considered with respect to the availability of, or spectral quality of, light in the differing habi- tats. This again could result in disappointment for some ethologists and ecologists.

Throughout the book Roth carefully describes similarities and differences between salamanders and anurans. Some very interesting points concerning differences between the groups in neuroanatomy, are presented and discussed in light of similarities in response characteristics and functions between the groups. This material would be of interest to anyone studying amphibian vis- ual mechanisms.

In conclusion, Roth's book would be an excellent reference for scientists conducting experimental research in the laboratory on the mechanisms of vis- ually guided feeding behaviour, or exploring the visual neuroanatomy of am- phibians in general. Anyone raising salamanders in captivity will also find useful information on prey items and the role of prey characteristics in feed- ing. Unfortunately, those individuals concerned with the ecology of salaman- ders will be struck by the scant amount of text dedicated to relating informa- tion about salamanders' visual mechanisms to their use of vision in their natural environment. Furthermore, anyone interested in visually guided be- haviours other than feeding, will be sadly disappointed with this book. Per-

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haps it would have been better entitled mechanisms of visually guided feeding behaviour in salamanders.

ELIZABETH PERRY Department of Psychology

Memorial University of Newfoundland St. John's

Nfld. AIB 3X9 Canada