While there is no great difficulty in determining the equivalent parts of the epidermis in Elasmobranchii and Amphibians, it still remains an open question in which of these groups the epiblast retains its primitive condition.
Though it is not easy to bring conclusive proofs on the one side or the other, the balance of argument appears to me to be decidedly in favour of regarding the condition of the epiblast in Elasmobranchii, and most other Vertebrates, as the primitive one, and its condition in Amphibians as a secondary one, due to the throwing back of the differentiation of their epiblast into two layers to a very early period in their development.
In favour of this view are the following points: (1) That a primitive division of the epiblast into two layers is unknown in the animal kingdom, except amongst Amphibians and (?) Osseous Fish. (2) That it appears more likely for a particular feature of development to be thrown back to an earlier period, than for such an important feature as a distinction between two primary layers to be absolutely lost during an early period of development, and then to reappear again in later stages.
The fact of the epiblast of the neural canal being divided, like the remainder of the layer, into nervous and epidermic parts, cannot, I think, be used as an argument in favour of the opposite view to that here maintained.
It seems probable that the central canal of the nervous system arose as an involution from the exterior, and therefore that the epidermis lining it is in reality merely a part of the external epidermis, and as such is naturally separated from the true nervous structures adjacent to it[196].
Leaving the general features of the external skin, I pass to the special organs derived from it during the stage just anterior to K.
The unpaired Fins. The unpaired fins have grown considerably, and the epiblast composing them becomes, like the remainder of the layer, divided into two strata, both however composed of more or less columnar cells. The ventral fin has now become more prominent than the dorsal fin; but the latter extends forward as a fold quite to the anterior part of the body.
The paired Fins. Along each side of the body there appears during this stage a thickened line of epiblast, which from the first exhibits two special developments: one of these just in front of the anus, and a second and better marked one opposite the front end of the segmental duct. These two special thickenings are the rudiments of the paired fins, which thus arise as special developments of a continuous ridge on each side, precisely like the ridges of epiblast which form the rudiments of the unpaired fins.
Similar thickenings to those in Elasmobranchii are found at the ends of the limbs in the embryos of both Birds and Mammals, in the form of caps of columnar epiblast[197].
The ridge, of which the limbs are special developments, is situated on a level slightly ventral to that of the dorsal aorta, and extends from just behind the head to the level of the anus. It is not noticeable in surface views, but appears in sections as a portion of the epiblast where the cells are more columnar than elsewhere; precisely resembling in this respect the forward continuation of the dorsal fin. At the present stage the posterior thickenings of this ridge which form the abdominal fins are so slight as to be barely visible, and their real nature can only be detected by a careful comparison between sections of this and the succeeding stages. The rudiments of the anterior pair of limbs are more visible than those of the posterior, though the passage between them and the remainder of the ridges is most gradual. Thus at first the rudiments of both the limbs are nothing more than slight thickenings of the epiblast, where its cells are more columnar than elsewhere. During stage K the rudiments of both pairs of limbs, but especially of the anterior pair, grow considerably, while at the same time the thickened ridge of epiblast which connects them together rapidly disappears. The thoracic limbs develop into an elongated projecting fold of epiblast, in every way like the folds forming the unpaired fins; while at the same time the cells of the subjacent mesoblast become closely packed, and form a slight projection, at the summit of which the fold of the epiblast is situated (Pl. 11, fig. 9). The maximum projection of the thoracic fin is slightly in advance of the front end of the segmental duct. The abdominal fins do not, during stage K, develop quite so fast as the thoracic, and at its close are merely elongated areas where the epiblast is much thickened, and below which the mesoblast is slightly condensed. In the succeeding stages they develop into projecting folds of skin, precisely as do the thoracic fins.