Tendinous system in Leptodactylus (Amphibia, Anura, Leptodactylidae): Morphological diversity and its relation to habitat and locomotion

FRATANI J; PONSSA ML; ABDALA, V

Washington

Congreso; International Congress of Vertebrate Morphology Meetings; 2016

International Society of Vertebrate Morphology

Tendons can be characterized as fibrous connective tissue with the main function of connecting and transmitting force from muscles to bones, with a unique structure, physiology and developmental origin which allow their consideration as an independent system. Despite of their anatomical and functional singularities, a description of the tendinous system is still not available for anurans. Herein, we present a general categorization of the tendinous system of the most superficial surface of Leptodactylus latinasus using techniques of comparative anatomy, and optimization of qualitative data. We compared the tendinous pattern of L. latinasus with 44 species of leptodactylid frogs. The Leptodactylus genus encompasses species with gradual independence of water and different locomotor modes, we test for the relation of these ecological features with morphometric data of tendons and optimization of qualitative data. We compared the tendinous pattern of L. latinasus and 44 species of leptodactylid frogs. Morphometic and qualitative data were taken from the origin and insertion tendons of the following muscles: longuissimus dorsi, coccygeous sacralis, iliacus externus, iliofibularis, sternoradialis, triceps, and flexor digitorum comunis. The main tendinous areas found are in the girdle region and limb articulations. All log10-transformed variables showed highly significant phylogenetic signal (p