MACNBR   00242
MUSEO ARGENTINO DE CIENCIAS NATURALES "BERNARDINO RIVADAVIA"
Unidad Ejecutora - UE
artículos
Título:
Sexual dimorphism in Leptodactylus latinasus (Anura, Leptodactylidae): nasal capsule anatomy,morphometric characters and performance associated with burrowing behavior
Autor/es:
PONSSA, MARÍA LAURA; BARRIONUEVO, JOSÉ SEBASTIÁN
Revista:
ACTA ZOOLOGICA
Editorial:
WILEY-BLACKWELL PUBLISHING, INC
Referencias:
Lugar: Londres; Año: 2012 vol. 93 p. 57 - 67
ISSN:
0001-7272
Resumen:
In anurans, the ability to burrow has been associated with the characteristics ofexternal morphology, with modifications in the musculoskeletal system and evenin some brain regions. Male Leptodactylus fuscus construct subterranean chamberswith the snout, where the eggs are deposited and early larval stages develop.Leptodactylus latinasus, a member of the L. fuscus group, is a good model to testthe relationship among digging behavior of males, sexual divergence in the morphologyof the nasal region, cranial-dimensions, and performance as digger. Thegoal of this work is to provide a detailed morphological description of the olfactoryregion, which allows detecting sexually dimorphic characters, to evaluatesexual divergence with head dimension data, and to test whether differences existin the digging performance of each sex. Our data do not clearly indicate sexualdimorphism in head size, nasal region morphology or digging performance thatcan be linked with the burrowing behavior. Thus, the only unequivocal sexuallydimorphic character associated with the construction of the nuptial chamber bymales would be the rigid, chisel-like snout, present exclusively in males.