The ontogeny of the olfactory system in ceratophryid frogs (Anura, Ceratophryidae)

QUINZIO, SILVIA INÉS; REISS, JOHN

JOURNAL OF MORPHOLOGY

WILEY-LISS, DIV JOHN WILEY & SONS INC

Lugar: New York; Año: 2018 vol. 279 p. 37 - 49

0362-2525

The aquatic-to-terrestrial shift in the life cycle of most anurans suggests that the differencesbetween the larval and adult morphology of the nose are required for sensory function in two media with different physical characteristics. However, a better controlled test of specialization to medium is to compare adult stages of terrestrial frogs with those that remain fully aquatic as adults. The Ceratophryidae is a monophyletic group of neotropical frogs whose diversification from a common terrestrial ancestor gave rise to both terrestrial (Ceratophrys, Chacophrys) and aquatic (Lepidobatrachus) adults. So, ceratophryids represent an excellent model to analyze the morphology and possible changes related to a secondary aquatic life.We describe the histomorphology of the nose during the ontogeny of the Ceratophryidae, paying particular attention to the condition in adult stages of the recessus olfactorius (a small area of olfactory epithelium that appears to be used for aquatic olfaction) and the eminentia olfactoria (a raised ridge on the floor of the principalcavity correlated with terrestrial olfaction). The species examined (Ceratophrys cranwelli,Chacophrys pierottii, Lepidobatrachus laevis, and L. llanensis) share a common larval olfactory organ composed by the principal cavity, the vomeronasal organ and the lateral appendix. At postmetamorphic stages, ceratophryids present a common morphology of the nose with the principal, middle, and inferior cavities with characteristics similar to other neobatrachians at the end of metamorphosis. However, in advanced adult stages, Lepidobatrachus laevis presents a recessus olfactorius with a heightened (peramorphic) development and a rudimentary (paedomorphic) eminentia olfactoria. Thus, the adult nose in Lepidobatrachus laevis arises from a common developmental?terrestrial pathwayup to postmetamorphic stages, when its ontogeny leads to a distinctive morphology related to the evolutionarily derived, secondarily aquatic life of adults of this lineage.