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Zoological Research Sep 2021is a species complex and reported widely from eastern, southern, and southwestern China. Based on molecular data of 19 populations of from China, including the...
Taxonomic revision of (Pope, 1929) (Amphibia: Anura) and description of a new species from southwestern China, with discussion on group and assignment of species groups of the genus .
is a species complex and reported widely from eastern, southern, and southwestern China. Based on molecular data of 19 populations of from China, including the population from Mt. Wuyi (type locality), we recognize and provide an expanded description based on the topotypic specimens. Combining morphological and molecular data, we describe a new species, , from southwestern China, which was previously identified as . The new species is distinguished from all other species in the group by: (1) moderate body size, SVL 35.3-39.2 mm in males (=7), and 50.5-54.4 mm in females (=7); (2) distinct tympanum, larger than half of eye diameter; (3) small tooth-like projection on anteromedial edge of mandible; (4) circummarginal groove on all fingers; (5) white tubercles on dorsal side of posterior body in both sexes; (6) distinct tubercles on dorsal thigh and white spinose tubercles on dorsal tibia in both sexes; (7) white tubercles on posterior region of tympanum in males; (8) toe webbing reaching disk by dermal fringe on inner side of toe II; (9) vomerine teeth present; (10) transverse bands on dorsal limbs; (11) external vocal sacs present in males. We further reviewed the assignment of groups, with an overall revision of membership and diagnosis of all species groups.
Topics: Animal Distribution; Animals; Anura; China; Female; Male; Phylogeny; Species Specificity
PubMed: 34355876
DOI: 10.24272/j.issn.2095-8137.2021.107 -
Journal of Comparative Physiology. A,... May 2008The anuran ear is frequently used for studying fundamental properties of vertebrate auditory systems. This is due to its unique anatomical features, most prominently the... (Review)
Review
The anuran ear is frequently used for studying fundamental properties of vertebrate auditory systems. This is due to its unique anatomical features, most prominently the lack of a basilar membrane and the presence of two dedicated acoustic end organs, the basilar papilla and the amphibian papilla. Our current anatomical and functional knowledge implies that three distinct regions can be identified within these two organs. The basilar papilla functions as a single auditory filter. The low-frequency portion of the amphibian papilla is an electrically tuned, tonotopically organized auditory end organ. The high-frequency portion of the amphibian papilla is mechanically tuned and tonotopically organized, and it emits spontaneous otoacoustic emissions. This high-frequency portion of the amphibian papilla shows a remarkable, functional resemblance to the mammalian cochlea.
Topics: Animals; Anura; Ear
PubMed: 18386018
DOI: 10.1007/s00359-008-0327-1 -
Proceedings. Biological Sciences Jul 2019Parental care has evolved repeatedly and independently across animals. While the ecological and evolutionary significance of parental behaviour is well recognized,...
Parental care has evolved repeatedly and independently across animals. While the ecological and evolutionary significance of parental behaviour is well recognized, underlying mechanisms remain poorly understood. We took advantage of behavioural diversity across closely related species of South American poison frogs (Family Dendrobatidae) to identify neural correlates of parental behaviour shared across sexes and species. We characterized differences in neural induction, gene expression in active neurons and activity of specific neuronal types in three species with distinct care patterns: male uniparental, female uniparental and biparental. We identified the medial pallium and preoptic area as core brain regions associated with parental care, independent of sex and species. The identification of neurons active during parental care confirms a role for neuropeptides associated with care in other vertebrates as well as identifying novel candidates. Our work is the first to explore neural and molecular mechanisms of parental care in amphibians and highlights the potential for mechanistic studies in closely related but behaviourally variable species to help build a more complete understanding of how shared principles and species-specific diversity govern parental care and other social behaviour.
Topics: Animals; Anura; Biological Evolution; Gene Expression; Larva; Maternal Behavior; Neurons; Paternal Behavior; Preoptic Area; Species Specificity
PubMed: 31311480
DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2019.1084 -
Biomolecules Apr 2020The investigations showed changes of the cystathionine γ-lyase (CTH), 3-mercaptopyruvate sulfurtransferase (MPST) and rhodanese (TST) activity and gene expression in...
The investigations showed changes of the cystathionine γ-lyase (CTH), 3-mercaptopyruvate sulfurtransferase (MPST) and rhodanese (TST) activity and gene expression in the brain, heart, liver, kidney, skeletal muscles and testes in frogs , and in response to Pb, Hg and Cd stress. The results were analyzed jointly with changes in the expression of selected antioxidant enzymes (cytoplasmic and mitochondrial superoxide dismutase, glutathione peroxidase, catalase and thioredoxin reducatase) and with the level of malondialdehyde (a product of lipid peroxidation). The obtained results allowed for confirming the role of sulfurtransferases in the antioxidant protection of tissues exposed to heavy metal ions. Our results revealed different transcriptional responses of the investigated tissues to each of the examined heavy metals. The CTH, MPST and TST genes might be regarded as heavy metal stress-responsive. The CTH gene expression up-regulation was confirmed in the liver (Pb, Hg, Cd) and skeletal muscle (Hg), MPST in the brain (Pb, Hg), kidney (Pb, Cd), skeletal muscle (Pb, Hg,Cd) and TST in the brain (Pb) and kidney (Pb, Hg, Cd). Lead, mercury and cadmium toxicity was demonstrated to affect the glutathione (GSH) and cysteine levels, the concentration ratio of reduced to oxidized glutathione ([GSH]/[GSSG]) and the level of sulfane sulfur-containing compounds, which in case of enhanced reactive oxygen species generation can reveal their antioxidative properties. The present report is the first to widely describe the role of the sulfane sulfur/HS generating enzymes and the cysteine/glutathione system in Pb, Hg and Cd stress in various frog tissues, and to explore the mechanisms mediating heavy metal-related stress.
Topics: Animals; Antioxidants; Anura; Glutathione; Metals, Heavy; Stress, Physiological; Sulfur
PubMed: 32283689
DOI: 10.3390/biom10040574 -
PLoS Genetics May 2020Polyploidy has played an important role in evolution across the tree of life but it is still unclear how polyploid lineages may persist after their initial formation....
Polyploidy has played an important role in evolution across the tree of life but it is still unclear how polyploid lineages may persist after their initial formation. While both common and well-studied in plants, polyploidy is rare in animals and generally less understood. The Australian burrowing frog genus Neobatrachus is comprised of six diploid and three polyploid species and offers a powerful animal polyploid model system. We generated exome-capture sequence data from 87 individuals representing all nine species of Neobatrachus to investigate species-level relationships, the origin and inheritance mode of polyploid species, and the population genomic effects of polyploidy on genus-wide demography. We describe rapid speciation of diploid Neobatrachus species and show that the three independently originated polyploid species have tetrasomic or mixed inheritance. We document higher genetic diversity in tetraploids, resulting from widespread gene flow between the tetraploids, asymmetric inter-ploidy gene flow directed from sympatric diploids to tetraploids, and isolation of diploid species from each other. We also constructed models of ecologically suitable areas for each species to investigate the impact of climate on differing ploidy levels. These models suggest substantial change in suitable areas compared to past climate, which correspond to population genomic estimates of demographic histories. We propose that Neobatrachus diploids may be suffering the early genomic impacts of climate-induced habitat loss, while tetraploids appear to be avoiding this fate, possibly due to widespread gene flow. Finally, we demonstrate that Neobatrachus is an attractive model to study the effects of ploidy on the evolution of adaptation in animals.
Topics: Animals; Anura; Australia; Ecosystem; Evolution, Molecular; Gene Flow; Genetic Speciation; Phylogeny; Polyploidy; Sympatry; Exome Sequencing
PubMed: 32392206
DOI: 10.1371/journal.pgen.1008769 -
Journal of the Association For Research... Apr 2015Many recent accounts of the frog peripheral auditory system have reproduced Wever's (1973) schematic cross-section of the ear of a leopard frog. We sought to investigate...
Many recent accounts of the frog peripheral auditory system have reproduced Wever's (1973) schematic cross-section of the ear of a leopard frog. We sought to investigate to what extent this diagram is an accurate and representative depiction of the anuran inner ear, using three-dimensional reconstructions made from serial sections of Rana pipiens, Eleutherodactylus limbatus and Xenopus laevis. In Rana, three discrete contact membranes were found to separate the posterior otic (=endolymphatic) labyrinth from the periotic (=perilymphatic) system: those of the amphibian and basilar recesses and the contact membrane of the saccule. The amphibian 'tegmentum vasculosum' was distinguishable as a thickened epithelial lining within a posterior recess of the superior saccular chamber. These features were also identified in Eleutherodactylus, but in this tiny frog the relative proportions of the semicircular canals and saccule resemble those of ranid tadpoles. There appeared to be a complete fluid pathway between the right and left periotic labyrinths in this species, crossing the cranial cavity. Xenopus lacks a tegmentum vasculosum and a contact membrane of the saccule; the Xenopus ear is further distinguished by a lateral passage separating stapes from periotic cistern and a more direct connection between periotic cistern and basilar recess. The basilar and lagenar recesses are conjoined in this species. Wever's diagram of the inner ear of Rana retains its value for diagrammatic purposes, but it is not anatomically accurate or representative of all frogs. Although Wever identified the contact membrane of the saccule, most recent studies of frog inner ear anatomy have overlooked both this and the amphibian tegmentum vasculosum. These structures deserve further attention.
Topics: Animals; Anura; Ear, Inner; Image Processing, Computer-Assisted; Rana pipiens; Xenopus laevis
PubMed: 25630769
DOI: 10.1007/s10162-015-0506-z -
PloS One 2020Recent reviews on sexual dichromatism in frogs included Mannophryne trinitatis as the only example they could find of dynamic dichromatism (males turn black when...
Recent reviews on sexual dichromatism in frogs included Mannophryne trinitatis as the only example they could find of dynamic dichromatism (males turn black when calling) within the family Aromobatidae and found no example of ontogenetic dichromatism in this group. We demonstrate ontogenetic dichromatism in M. trinitatis by rearing post-metamorphic froglets to near maturity: the throats of all individuals started as grey coloured; at around seven weeks, the throat became pale yellow in some, and more strongly yellow as development proceeded; the throats of adults are grey in males and variably bright yellow in females, backed by a dark collar. We demonstrated the degree of throat colour variability by analysing a large sample of females. The red: green (R:G) ratio ranged from ~1.1 to 1.4, reflecting variation from yellow to yellow/orange, and there was also variation in the tone and width of the dark collar, and in the extent to which the yellow colouration occurred posterior to the collar. Female M. trinitatis are known to be territorial in behaviour. We show a positive relationship between throat colour (R:G ratio) and escape performance, as a proxy for quality. Our field observations on Tobago's M. olmonae showed variability in female throat colour and confirmed that males in this species also turn black when calling. Our literature review of the 20 Mannophryne species so far named showed that all females have yellow throats with dark collars, and that male colour change to black when calling has been reported in eight species; in the remaining 12 species, descriptions of males calling are usually lacking so far. We predict that both dynamic and ontogenetic sexual dichromatism are universal in this genus and provide discussion of the ecological role of dichromatism in this genus of predominantly diurnal, non-toxic frogs, with strong paternal care of offspring.
Topics: Animals; Anura; Behavior, Animal; Color; Female; Male; Pharynx; Sex Characteristics
PubMed: 32639962
DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0223080 -
ELife Jun 2021Teeth are present in most clades of vertebrates but have been lost completely several times in actinopterygian fishes and amniotes. Using phenotypic data collected from...
Teeth are present in most clades of vertebrates but have been lost completely several times in actinopterygian fishes and amniotes. Using phenotypic data collected from over 500 genera via micro-computed tomography, we provide the first rigorous assessment of the evolutionary history of dentition across all major lineages of amphibians. We demonstrate that dentition is invariably present in caecilians and salamanders, but teeth have been lost completely more than 20 times in frogs, a much higher occurrence of edentulism than in any other vertebrate group. The repeated loss of teeth in anurans is associated with a specialized diet of small invertebrate prey as well as shortening of the lower jaw, but it is not correlated with a reduction in body size. Frogs provide an unparalleled opportunity for investigating the molecular and developmental mechanisms of convergent tooth loss on a large phylogenetic scale.
Topics: Adaptation, Physiological; Animals; Anura; Biological Evolution; Diet; Jaw; Phylogeny; Time Factors; Tooth; X-Ray Microtomography
PubMed: 34060471
DOI: 10.7554/eLife.66926 -
Zoological Research Jul 2021Functional diversity is an integrative approach to better understand biodiversity across space and time. In the present study, we investigated the spatiotemporal...
Functional diversity is an integrative approach to better understand biodiversity across space and time. In the present study, we investigated the spatiotemporal patterns (i.e., elevation and season) and environmental determinants of anuran functional diversity on Tianping Mountain, northwest Hunan, China. Specifically, 10 transects were established from low (300 m a.s.l.) to high (1 492 m a.s.l.) elevations, and anuran communities were sampled in spring, early summer, midsummer, and autumn in 2017. Four functional diversity indices were computed for each transect in each season using ecomorphological functional traits. Our results demonstrated that these indices had contrasting responses to increasing elevations. However, they did not differ significantly among seasons in terms of temporal patterns. Interestingly, the unique spatiotemporal functional diversity patterns were impacted by distinct environmental variables, such as leaf litter cover, water temperature, number of trees, and water conductivity.
Topics: Altitude; Animal Distribution; Animals; Anura; Biodiversity; Climate; Forests
PubMed: 34075734
DOI: 10.24272/j.issn.2095-8137.2020.341 -
Methods in Molecular Biology (Clifton,... 2008
Review
Topics: Animals; Animals, Genetically Modified; Anura; Efficiency; Embryo, Nonmammalian; Gene Transfer Techniques; Models, Biological; Mutagenesis, Insertional; Nuclear Transfer Techniques; Recombination, Genetic
PubMed: 19030816
DOI: 10.1007/978-1-60327-483-8_31