Morphological Evidence for an Oral Venom System in Caecilian Amphibians

Author(s)

Mailho-Fontana, Pedro Luiz ^[1] ; Antoniazzi, Marta Maria ^[1] ; Alexandre, Cesar ^[1] ; Pimenta, Daniel Carvalho ^[2] ; Sciani, Juliana Mozer ^[3] ; Brodie, Jr., Edmund D. ^[4] ; Jared, Carlos ^[1]

Affiliation

^[1] Butantan Inst, Struct Biol Lab, Sao Paulo - Brazil

^[2] Butantan Inst, Biochem Lab, Sao Paulo - Brazil

^[3] Sao Francisco Univ, Braganca Paulista, SP - Brazil

^[4] Utah State Univ, Dept Biol, Logan, UT 84322 - USA

• Document type: Journal article
• Source: ISCIENCE; v. 23, n. 7 JUL 24 2020.
• Web of Science Citations: 0

Abstract

Amphibians are known for their skin rich in glands containing toxins employed in passive chemical defense against predators, different from, for example, snakes that have active chemical defense, injecting their venom into the prey. Caecilians (Amphibia, Gymnophiona) are snake-shaped animals with fossorial habits, consid-ered one of the least known vertebrate groups. We show here that amphibian caecilians, including species from the basal groups, besides having cutaneous poisonous glands as other amphibians do, possess specific glands at the base of the teeth that produce enzymes commonly found in venoms. Our analysis of the origin of these glands shows that they originate from the same tissue that gives rise to teeth, similar to the venom glands in reptiles. We speculate that caecilians might have independently developed mechanisms of production and in-jection of toxins early in their evolutionary history. (AU)

• FAPESP's process: 17/10488-1 - Parental care and skin feeding in the caecilian Siphonops annulatus: an integrative approach
• Grantee: Pedro Luiz Mailho Fontana
• Support type: Scholarships in Brazil - Post-Doctorate
• FAPESP's process: 18/03265-9 - Unraveling parental care in caecilians: nutritional and toxinological implications in Siphonops annulatus
• Grantee: Carlos Alberto Gonçalves Silva Jared
• Support type: Regular Research Grants