Larval anatomy of Andean tadpoles of Telmatobius (Anura: Ceratophryidae) from Northwestern Argentina

In this paper I study the oral, buccopharyngeal, and musculoskeletal configuration in tadpoles of nine Telmatobius species from Northwestern Argentina (T. atacamensis, T. ceiorum, T. laticeps, T. oxycephalus, T. pinguiculus, T. pisanoi, T. cf. schreiteri, T. scrocchii, and T. stephani; N = 30, Gosne...

Descripción completa

Detalles Bibliográficos
Autor: Vera Candioti, María Florencia
Tipo de recurso: artículo
Estado:Versión publicada
Fecha de publicación:2008
País:Argentina
Institución:Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas
Repositorio:CONICET Digital (CONICET)
Idioma:inglés
OAI Identifier:oai:ri.conicet.gov.ar:11336/80634
Acceso en línea:http://hdl.handle.net/11336/80634
Access Level:acceso abierto
Palabra clave:Telmatobius
Tadpoles
Buccal Cavity
Musculoskeletal Configuration
Geometric Morphometrics
https://purl.org/becyt/ford/1.6
https://purl.org/becyt/ford/1
Descripción
Sumario:In this paper I study the oral, buccopharyngeal, and musculoskeletal configuration in tadpoles of nine Telmatobius species from Northwestern Argentina (T. atacamensis, T. ceiorum, T. laticeps, T. oxycephalus, T. pinguiculus, T. pisanoi, T. cf. schreiteri, T. scrocchii, and T. stephani; N = 30, Gosner stages 31–36). Specimens were prepared according to standard clearing and staining protocols; additionally, I applied landmark and outline-based geometric morphometric methods in order to quantify shape variation in chondrocrania, hyobranchial skeletons, and suprarostral cartilages. Although preliminary, results show a marked morphological uniformity on the analyzed levels, and overlapping interspecific and intraspecific variation, which renders species discrimination difficult. Some distinctive traits for the genus are bicuspidate buccal spurs, peculiar arrangement of buccal roof and floor papillae, tetrapartite suprarostral, adrostral cartilages, a lateral slip of the m. subarcualis rectus II-IV invading branchial septum IV, and a characteristic pattern of muscles inserted on the diaphragm. The conservative larval internal morphology in this genus could be explained by a recent speciation and a development possibly characterized by the postmetamorphic appearance of specific features.