TY  - JOUR
A1  - Laudor, Jörn
A1  - Schulze, Arne Christian
A1  - Veith, Michael
A1  - Viertel, Bruno
A1  - Elle, Ortwin
A1  - Lötters, Stefan
T1  - Morphology of lentic and lotic tadpoles from Madagascar
T2  - BioMed Central Zoology
N2  - Background

The morphology of anuran larvae is suggested to differ between species with tadpoles living in standing (lentic) and running (lotic) waters. To explore which character combinations within the general tadpole morphospace are associated with these habitats, we studied categorical and metric larval data of 123 (one third of which from lotic environments) Madagascan anurans.

Results

Using univariate and multivariate statistics, we found that certain combinations of fin height, body musculature and eye size prevail either in larvae from lentic or lotic environments.

Conclusion

Evidence for adaptation to lotic conditions in larvae of Madagascan anurans is presented. While lentic tadpoles typically show narrow to moderate oral discs, small to medium sized eyes, convex or moderately low fins and non-robust tail muscles, tadpoles from lotic environments typically show moderate to broad oral discs, medium to big sized eyes, low fins and a robust tail muscle.
KW  - Adaptation
KW  - Anura
KW  - Larva
KW  - Environment
KW  - Evolution
KW  - Madagascar
KW  - Aquatisches Ökosystem
KW  - Froschlurche
KW  - Larve
KW  - Kaulquappe
KW  - Morphologie
Y1  - 2021
UR  - https://ubt.opus.hbz-nrw.de/frontdoor/index/index/docId/1854
UR  - https://nbn-resolving.org/urn:nbn:de:hbz:385-1-18547
IS  - Heft 6 (2021), Artikel 28
PB  - BioMed Central
CY  - London
ER  -