Chondrocranial differences in Bufotes variabilis (Anura: Bufonidae): geometric morphometric comparison with two anuran species

Chondrocranial differences in Bufotes variabilis (Anura: Bufonidae): geometric morphometric comparison with two anuran species

Few studies have focused on a detailed morphological description of the chondrocranium of bufonids. This study examinesBufotes variabilis , which is one of the widespread clades of neobatrachian anurans. We used geometric morphometrics to analyzevariations of the chondrocranial shape inB. variabilisand a comparison was made withRana macrocnemisandHyla orientalis . Resultsindicated thatB. variabilisis clearly different from the other species based on the presence of a bigger otic process, a more anteriorposition of the muscular process of the palatoquadrate, and a narrower articular process of the palatoquadrate.H. orientalisandR.macrocnemisare similar to each other by a wider articular process of the palatoquadrate, a more posterior position of the muscularprocess of the palatoquadrate, and a smaller and anterolateral position of the otic capsule.

___

  • Cannatella DC (1999). Architecture: cranial and axial musculo- skeleton. In: McDiarmid RW, Altig R, editors. Tadpoles: The Biology of Anuran Larvae. Chicago, IL, USA: University of Chicago Press, pp. 52-91.
  • Foster DJ, Podos J, Hendry AP (2007). A geometric morphometric appraisal of beak shape in Darwin’s finches. J Evol Biol 21: 263- 275.
  • Haad B, Candioti FV, Baldo D (2011). Shape variation in lentic and lotic tadpoles of Melanophryniscus (Anura: Bufonidae). Stud Neotrop Fauna E 46: 91-99.
  • Haas A (1995). Cranial features of dendrobatid larvae (Amphibia: Anura: Dendrobatidae). J Morphol 224: 241-264.
  • Haas A (1996). Das larvale cranium von Gastrotheca riobambae und seine metamorphose (Amphibia, Anura, Hylidae). Verhandlungen Des NaturwissenschaftlichenVereins in Hamburg 36: 33-162 (in German).
  • Hollenshead MG (2011). Geometric morphometric analysis of cranial variation in the Egernia depressa (Reptilia: Squamata: Scincidae) species complex. Records of the Western Australian Museum 26: 138-153.
  • Garriga N, Llorente GA (2011). Chondrocranial ontogeny of Pelodytes punctatus (Anura: Pelobytidae). Response to competition: geometric morphometric and allametric change analysis. Acta Zool-Stockholm 93: 453-464.
  • Gosner KL (1960). A simplified table for staging anuran embryos and larvae with notes on identification. Herpetologica 16: 183-190.
  • Larson PM (2002). Chondrocranial development in larval Rana sylvatica (Anura: Ranidae): a morphometric analysis of cranial allometry and ontogenetic shape change. J Morphol 252: 131-144.
  • Larson PM (2004). Chondrocranial morphology and ontogenetic allometry in larval Bufo americanus (Anura, Bufonidae). Zoomorphology 123: 95-106.
  • Larson PM (2005). Ontogeny, phylogeny, and morphology in anuran larvae: a morphometric analysis of cranial development and evolution in Rana larvae (Anura: Ranidae). J Morphol 264: 34-52.
  • Larson PM (2008). The chondrocrania of North American Rana larvae (Anura: Ranidae): a morphological comparison. Acta Zool- Stockholm 89: 279-288.
  • Larson PM, de Sá RO (1998). Chondrocranial morphology of Leptodactylus larvae (Leptodactylidae: Leptodactylinae): its utility in phylogenetic reconstruction. J Morphol 238: 287-305.
  • Larson PM, Reilly SM (2003). Functional morphology of feeding and gill irrigation in the anuran tadpole: electromyography and muscle function in larval Rana catesbeiana. J Morphol 255: 202- 214.
  • Maglia AM, Pugener LA, Trueb L (2001). Comparative development of anurans: Using phylogeny to understand ontogeny. Am Zool 41: 538-551.
  • Ponssa ML, Candioti MFV (2012). Patterns of skull development in anurans: size and shape relationship during postmetamorphic cranial ontogeny in five species of the Leptodactylus fuscus group (Anura: Leptodactylidae). Zoomorphology 131: 349-362.
  • Púgener LA, Maglia AM (1997). Osteology and skeletal development of Discoglossus sardus (Anura: Discoglossidae). J Morphol 233: 267-286.
  • Relyea RA, Werner EE (2000). Morphological plasticity of four larval anurans distributed along an environmental gradient. Copeia 2000: 178-190.
  • Rohlf FJ (2004). tpsDIG. Version 1.40. Stony Brook, NY, USA: Department of Ecology and Evolution, State University of New York at Stony Brook.
  • Vences M, Puente M, Nieto S, Vieites DR (2002). Phenotypic plasticity of anuran larvae: environmental variables influence body shape and oral morphology in Rana temporaria tadpoles. J Zool Lond 257: 155-162.
  • Wassersug R (1976). Oral Morphology of Anuran Larvae: Terminology and General Description. Occasional Paper 48 of the Museum of Natural History. Lawrence, KS, USA: University of Kansas.
  • Zelditch ML, Fink Wl (1995). Allometry and development integration of body growth in a piranha, Pygocentrus nattereri (Teleostei: Ostariophysi). J Morphol 223: 341-355.