Skeleton in the closet: hidden diversity in patterns of cranial and postcranial ontogeny in Neotropical direct-developing frogs (Anura: Brachycephaloidea)

Author(s)

Vera Candioti, Florencia ^[1] ; Goldberg, Javier ^[2] ; Akmentins, Mauricio S. ^[3] ; Nogueira Costa, Paulo ^[4] ; Goulart Taucce, Pedro Paulo ^{[5, 6]} ; Pombal, Jr., Jose ^[7]

Affiliation

^[1] Fdn Miguel Lillo, Unidad Ejecutora Lillo, Consejo Nacl Invest Cient & Tecn, San Miguel De Tucuman, Tucuman - Argentina

^[2] Consejo Nacl Invest Cient & Tecn, Inst Bio & Geociencias NOA, Rosario De Lerma, Salta - Argentina

^[3] Univ Nacl Jujuy, Inst Ecorregiones Andinas, Consejo Nacl Invest Cient & Tecn, San Salvador De Jujuy, Jujuy - Argentina

^[4] Univ Fed Sul & Sudeste Para, Museu Biodivers Tauari, Maraba, Para - Brazil

^[5] Univ Estadual Paulista, Inst Biociencias, Dept Biodivers, Campus Rio Claro, Sao Paulo - Brazil

^[6] Univ Estadual Paulista, Inst Biociencias, Ctr Aquicultura, Campus Rio Claro, Sao Paulo - Brazil

^[7] Univ Fed Rio De Janeiro, Dept Vertebrados, Museu Nacl, Rio De Janeiro - Brazil

• Document type: Journal article
• Source: ORGANISMS DIVERSITY & EVOLUTION; v. 20, n. 4, p. 763-783, DEC 2020.
• Web of Science Citations: 0

Abstract

Direct development implies transformations with respect to the anuran biphasic life cycle, including changes in embryonic anatomy. In the clade Brachycephaloidea, skeletal ontogeny is known inEleutherodactylus coquiof the basal family Eleutherodactylidae. In this work, we study it in four species representing the two other families in the group. We worked with developmental series ofOreobates barituensis,Haddadus binotatus,Ischnocnema henselii, andBrachycephalus ephippium. Specimens were prepared following protocols of clearing and staining and histology. In the cranium, results show an overall shared pattern that, as summarized forE. coqui, combines a partial recapitulation of aspects of the ancestral biphasic ontogeny with a profound remodeling that includes lost/novel structures and heterochronic shifts of developmental events. Among these transformations are the absence of suprarostrals and trabecular horns and the precocious ossification of jaw and suspensorium. In addition, each lineage shows particular features such that skull ontogeny varies interspecifically. In turn, the morphogenesis of the axial and appendicular skeleton is highly conserved, with main variations including the extent of ossification at hatching. Along with some external features such as the egg tooth and the enveloping tail with transversely arranged fins, an ossification sequence with extremely accelerated ossification of jaws and suspensorium could be distinctive of Brachycephaloidea. (AU)

• FAPESP's process: 14/05772-4 - Taxonomic review and phylogenetic study of the Ischnocnema guentheri species series (Anura: Brachycephalidae)
• Grantee: Pedro Paulo Goulart Taucci
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Doctorate
• FAPESP's process: 19/04076-8 - Genetic bases and evolutive processes of the variation in color patterns in amphibians
• Grantee: Pedro Paulo Goulart Taucci
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Post-Doctoral