![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() MM is supported by the National Research Council (NRC-11-124). Specimens are deposited in the Systematics Lab, University of Delhi (SDBDU), under accession numbers SDB 1004–1073.įunding: This research was supported by grants to SDB from People Trust for Endangered Species (PTES), London, Evolutionarily Distinct and Globally Endangered species (EDGE), London, and DU/DST ‘2015/868,’ Government of India and University of Delhi R&D 2007/130, 2007/858, 2008/302. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.ĭata Availability: All relevant data are within the paper and its supporting information files. Received: SeptemAccepted: FebruPublished: March 30, 2016Ĭopyright: © 2016 Senevirathne et al. PLoS ONE 11(3):Įditor: Paul Eckhard Witten, Ghent University, BELGIUM Our analysis enhances the scope for detailed comparative studies across anurans, a group renowned for the diversity of its life history strategies.Ĭitation: Senevirathne G, Thomas A, Kerney R, Hanken J, Biju SD, Meegaskumbura M (2016) From Clinging to Digging: The Postembryonic Skeletal Ontogeny of the Indian Purple Frog, Nasikabatrachus sahyadrensis (Anura: Nasikabatrachidae). The transition from an aquatic life in torrents to a terrestrial life underground entails dramatic changes in skeletal morphology and function that represent an extreme in metamorphic remodeling. Subsequently, the frogs may shift to headfirst burrowing by using the wedge-shaped skull, anteriorly positioned pectoral girdle, well-developed humeral crests and spatula-shaped forelimbs. Metamorphs are equipped with a shortened tibiafibula and ossified prehallical elements, which likely facilitate initial digging using the hind limbs. The subsequent ontogenetic shift from clinging to digging is correlated with rapid morphological changes and behavioral modifications. This unusual feature enables the larvae to maintain their clinging habit until near the end of metamorphosis. Unlike tadpoles of many other frogs, those of Nasikabatrachus retain larval mouthparts into late metamorphic stages. The torrent-dwelling larva possesses a dorsoventrally flattened body and a head with tiny dorsal eyes, robust lower and upper jaw cartilages, well-developed trabecular horns, and a definable gap between the trabecular horns and the tip of the snout. ![]() Using a nearly complete metamorphic series from free-living larva to metamorph, we describe the postembryonic skeletal ontogeny of this ancient and unique monotypic lineage. The developmental changes that underlie these shifts in habits and habitats, and especially the internal remodeling of the cranial and postcranial skeleton, are unknown. Tadpoles have a large ventral oral sucker, which they use to cling to rocks in torrents, whereas metamorphs possess adaptations for life underground. The Indian Purple frog, Nasikabatrachus sahyadrensis, occupies a basal phylogenetic position among neobatrachian anurans and has a very unusual life history. ![]()
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