Variation in the erythrocyte size among larvae, juveniles and adults of Hypsiboas cordobae (Anura, Hylidae)

BARAQUET, MARIANA; SALAS, NANCY EDITH; MARTINO ADOLFO LUDOVICO

Basic and Applied Herpetology

Asociación Herpetológica Española

Año: 2013 vol. 28 p. 137 - 143

2255-1468

The aims of our study were to determine sizes and shape of erythrocytes in Hypsiboas cordobae and to evaluate the differences in erythrocytes among larva, juvenile and adult individuals. Length and width of 40 randomly chosen erythrocytes and their respective nuclei of larvae, juveniles and adults were measured. All individuals were collected in experimental field ?Las Guindas?, Cordoba province, Argentina. Erythrocyte and nuclear areas were calculated assuming an ellipsoid shape. Furthermore, the aspect ratio, which reflects the shape of the cell, was calculated. The erythrocytes were oval, and their nuclei were also oval and centrally located. The erythrocyte and nuclear size of larvae were smaller than the adults. The juveniles showed intermediate values of erythrocyte size but their nuclear sizes were smaller than the larvae and adults. The more ellipsoidal cells and nuclei were observed in adults; the juveniles had intermediate values, and the larvae showed a spherical shape. Finally, we used discriminant analysis to differentiate the erythrocyte and nuclear areas among larva, juvenile, and adult individuals and the result obtained were highly significant (p = 0.0000) with a classification rate of 89.26 % .