The peripheral nerves of Lepidobatrachus tadpoles (Anura, Ceratophryidae)

QUINZIO, SILVIA INÉS; FABREZI, MARISSA

JOURNAL OF MORPHOLOGY

WILEY-LISS, DIV JOHN WILEY & SONS INC

Lugar: New York; Año: 2018

0362-2525

Based on limited knowledge, the peripheral nervous system of anuran larvae has been assumed to be largely invariant. Here we describe the organization of cranial, spinal and lateral line nerves at different larval stages of Lepidobatrachus spp. based on whole mounts. This is the first detailed description of cranial, spinal and lateral lines innervation at premetamorphic stages of anuran larvae with notes on temporal variation towards the metamorphosis. We distinguish three sources of morphological variation with respect to other anuran larvae: 1) the loss or reduction of some exclusively larval elements (i.e., the absence of the middle lateral line nerve); 2) spatial changes in the lateral line system (i.e., the supralabial arrangement of component of the anteroventral lateral line nerve), 3) temporal changes in the disappearance of most of the lateral line system and in the premetamorphic repatterning of the spatial relationships of mandibularis ramus of the trigeminal (V) and hyomandibularis ramus of facial (VII). The innervation of limbs is achieved during late larval stages. Further, comparisons among selected anurans reveal differences in tadpole brain morphology. The spatial and temporal variation found in the peripheral nerves of Lepidobatrachus larvae testifies to previously unappreciated variation in anuran larval morphology.22 Key words: Anurans, nervous system, variation, metamorphosis, modularity