Parra, G., et al., 2007.
Systematics and Conservation. In
C. Gascon, et al., ed. Amphibian Conservation Action Plan. Gland and Cambridge. Gland and Cambridge: IUCN/SSC Amphibian Specialist Group, pp. 45-48.
PDF Kerney, R., et al., 2007.
Cranial ontogeny in Philautus silus (Anura : Ranidae : Rhacoohorinae) reveals few similarities with other direct-developing anurans.
Journal of Morphology , 268 , pp. 715-725.
AbstractDirect development has evolved in rhacophorine frogs independently from other anuran lineages, thereby offering an opportunity to assess features associated with this derived life history. Using a developmental series of the direct-developing Philautus silus (Ranidae: Rhaeophorinae) from Sri Lanka, we examine features of cranial morphology that are part of a suite of adaptations that facilitate feeding in free-living tadpoles, but have been changed or lost in other direct-developing lineages. Larval-specific upper jaw cartilages, which are absent from many non-rhacophorine direct-developing species (such as Eleutherodactylus coqui), develop in embryos of P. silus. Similarly, lower jaw cartilages initially assume a larval morphology, which is subsequently remodeled into the adult jaw configuration before hatching. However, the cartilaginous jaw suspension and hyobranchial skeleton never assume a typical larval morphology. The palatoquadrate, which suspends the lower jaw, lacks the posterior connections to the braincase found in many metamorphosing species. Unlike in metamorphosing species, bone formation in P. silus begins before hatching. However, the sequence of bone formation resembles that of metamorphosing anurans more than that of other direct developers. In particular, P. silus does not exhibit precocious ossification of the lower jaw, which is characteristic of some frogs and caecilians that lack a free-living tadpole. These data reveal some similarities between Philautus and other direct-developing anurans. However, the departure of Philautus embryos from the generalized tadpole skeletal morphology is less pronounced than that observed in other direct-developing taxa.
PDF Kerney, R., Gross, J.B. & Hanken, J., 2007.
Runx2 is essential for larval hyobranchial cartilage formation in Xenopus laevis.
Developmental Dynamics , 236 , pp. 1650-1662.
AbstractThe vertebrate transcription factor protein Runx2 is regarded as a "master regulator" of bone formation due to the dramatic loss of the osseous skeleton in the mouse homozygous knockout. However, Runx2 mRNA also is expressed in the pre-hypertrophic cartilaginous skeleton of the mouse and chicken, where its developmental function is largely unknown. Several tiers of Runx2 regulation exist in the mouse, any of which may account for its seeming biological inactivity during early stages of skeletogenesis. Unlike mouse and chicken, zebrafish require Runx2 function in early cartilage differentiation. The present study reveals that the earlier functional role of Runx2 in cartilage differentiation is shared between zebrafish and Xenopus. A combination of morpholino oligonucleotide injections and neural crest transplants indicate that Runx2 is involved in differentiation of the cartilaginous hyobranchial skeleton in the frog, Xenopus laevis. Additionally, in situ hybridizations show runx2 mRNA expression in mesenchymal precursors of the cartilaginous skull, which reveals the earliest pre-patterning of these cartilages described to date. The early distribution of runx2 resolves the homology of the larval suprarostral plate, which is one of the oldest controversies of anuran skull development. Together these data reveal a shift in Runx2 protein function during vertebrate evolution towards its exclusive roles in cartilage hypertrophy and bone differentiation within the amniote lineage.
PDF Bininda-Emonds, O.R.P., et al., 2007.
Forelimb-hindlimb developmental timing changes across tetrapod phylogeny.
Bmc Evolutionary Biology , 7 , pp. 182.
AbstractBackground: Tetrapods exhibit great diversity in limb structures among species and also between forelimbs and hindlimbs within species, diversity which frequently correlates with locomotor modes and life history. We aim to examine the potential relation of changes in developmental timing (heterochrony) to the origin of limb morphological diversity in an explicit comparative and quantitative framework. In particular, we studied the relative time sequence of development of the forelimbs versus the hindlimbs in 138 embryos of 14 tetrapod species spanning a diverse taxonomic, ecomorphological and life-history breadth. Whole- mounts and histological sections were used to code the appearance of 10 developmental events comprising landmarks of development from the early bud stage to late chondrogenesis in the forelimb and the corresponding serial homologues in the hindlimb.Results: An overall pattern of change across tetrapods can be discerned and appears to be relatively clade- specific. In the primitive condition, as seen in Chondrichthyes and Osteichthyes, the forelimb/ pectoral fin develops earlier than the hindlimb/ pelvic fin. This pattern is either retained or re- evolved in eulipotyphlan insectivores (= shrews, moles, hedgehogs, and solenodons) and taken to its extreme in marsupials. Although exceptions are known, the two anurans we examined reversed the pattern and displayed a significant advance in hindlimb development. All other species examined, including a bat with its greatly enlarged forelimbs modified as wings in the adult, showed near synchrony in the development of the fore and hindlimbs.Conclusion: Major heterochronic changes in early limb development and chondrogenesis were absent within major clades except Lissamphibia, and their presence across vertebrate phylogeny are not easily correlated with adaptive phenomena related to morphological differences in the adult fore- and hindlimbs. The apparently conservative nature of this trait means that changes in chondrogenetic patterns may serve as useful phylogenetic characters at higher taxonomic levels in tetrapods. Our results highlight the more important role generally played by allometric heterochrony in this instance to shape adult morphology.
PDF Wake, D.B., Savage, J.M. & Hanken, J., 2007.
Montane salamanders from the Costa Rica-Panama border region, with descriptions of two new species of Bolitoglossa.
Copeia , pp. 556-565.
AbstractTwo new species of lungless salamanders (Plethodontidae) are described from montane habitats of eastern Costa Rica and adjacent western Panama. Bolitoglossa gomezi and B. bramei are distinguished from each other and from other salamander species in this remote area in adult body size, external proportions, foot webbing, tooth counts, and/or external coloration. Both new species are assigned to the B. subpalmata species group, subgenus Eladinea. A newly identified specimen of Bolitoglossa anthracina-only the fourth known specimen of this rare species in collections-is reported from the same region. Salamander species diversity along the border between Costa Rica and Panama is exceptionally large, at present comprising 22 named and two unnamed forms.
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