The skull of Phyllomedusa sauvagii (Anura, Hylidae)

RUIZ MONACHESI, MARIO RICARDO; LAVILLA E.O.; MONTERO R.

ANATOMICAL RECORD

WILEY-LISS, DIV JOHN WILEY & SONS INC

Lugar: New York; Año: 2016 vol. 299 p. 557 - 572

0003-276X

ABSTRACT: The hylid genus Phyllomedusa comprises charismatic frogs commonly known asmonkey, leaf or green frogs, and is the most diverse genus of the subfamily Phyllomedusinae,including about 31 species. Although there is some information about the anatomy of these frogs,little is known about the osteology. Here the adult skull of Phyllomedusa sauvagii, botharticulated and disarticulated, is described and the intraspecific variation is reported.Additionally, cartilage associated with the adult skull, such as the nasal capsules, auditoryapparatus, and hyobranchial apparatus, are included in the analysis. Further examination ofdisarticulated bones reveals their remarkable complexity, specifically in the sphenethmoid and ofthe oocipital region. The description of disarticulated bones is useful for the identification of fossil remains as well as providing morphological characterics that are phylogeneticallyinformative. When comparing the skull morphology with the available information of other species of the genus, Phyllomesusa sauvagii skull resembles more that of P. vaillanti and P.venusta than P. atelopoides.