Diversity and evolution of sexually dimorphic skin glands of Scinaxini (Hylidae: Hylinae: Hylini)

• Grant number: 23/17996-3
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships abroad - Research Internship - Doctorate
• Start date: April 30, 2024
• End date: April 29, 2025
• Field of knowledge: Biological Sciences - Zoology - Morphology of Recent Groups
• Principal Investigator: Célio Fernando Baptista Haddad
• Grantee: Pedro Marinho
• Supervisor: Julian Faivovich
• Host Institution: Instituto de Biociências (IB). Universidade Estadual Paulista (UNESP). Campus de Rio Claro. Rio Claro , SP, Brazil
• Institution abroad: Museo Argentino De Ciencias Naturales Bernardino Rivadavia, Argentina
• Associated to the scholarship: 21/14476-3 - Systematics and taxonomy of the Scinax auratus species group (Anura: Hylinae: Scinaxini), BP.DR

Abstract

The tribe Scinaxini has been a focal point of phylogenetic analyses to uncover the relationships among its diverse species. The recent comprehensive phylogenetic study by Araujo-Vieira et al. (2023) has recovered the monophyly of Scinaxini and recognized three well-supported genera: Julianus, Ololygon, and Scinax. This context provides an evolutionary context for the study of the diversity and evolution of multiple character systems in the tribe. In this project we will focus on the sexually dimorphic character systems, specifically glandular clusters such as nuptial pads, inguinal glands, pectoral glands, and mental glands. This research project aims to analyze the sexually dimorphic skin glands (SDSGs) in Scinaxini. These glands exhibit intriguing diversity in morphology and occurrence. Therefore, the study seeks to achieve four main goals: (1) provide a comprehensive description of the diversity and taxonomic distribution of SDSGs in Scinaxini, (2) propose homologies for character states derived from the analysis of gland diversity, (3) add to the phylogenetic analysis of Scinaxini the characters related to SDSGs and (4) test whether SDSGs characters optimize as synapomorphies of internal clades of Scinaxini