INVESTIGADORES
PEROTTI Maria gabriela
artículos
Título:
Muscle Development in the Abdominal Region of Larval Hylidae (Amphibia: Anura)
Autor/es:
MANZANO, A.S.; PEROTTI, M.G.
Revista:
JOURNAL OF MORPHOLOGY
Editorial:
WILEY-LISS, INC.
Referencias:
Año: 1999 vol. 241 p. 275 - 282
ISSN:
0362-2525
Resumen:
Larval muscle development in the abdominal region of fivespecies of hylid frogs (Scinax nasicum, S. fuscovarium, Hyla andina, Phyllomedusaboliviana, Gastrotheca gracilis) was studied using differential stainingtechniques. These five species represent three major hylid subfamilies.The development of the main abdominal muscles, the rectus abdominis, thetwo lateral muscles (obliquus externus and transversus), and the lateralpectoralis abdominalis is described. The number of myotomes of the rectusabdominis varies between five and six, and the abdominal muscles associatedwith the rectus abdominis (obliquus externus, pectoralis abdominalis, andrectus cervicis) vary interspecifically in time of appearance and configuration.The presence of gaps in the configuration of the rectus abdominis has beenrelated to the lotic habits of the larvae. However, our observations indicate thepresence of such gaps in larvae that inhabit lentic environments as well.These results suggest that the presence of these gaps is unrelated to larvalhabitat. There are relatively small differences in muscle morphology amongthese closely related species, which apparently cannot be explained by morphologicaladaptations related to their ecology. In the species studied, the numberof elements that form the abdominal musculature in larvae is equal to thatobserved in adults. Likewise, the general morphology of the muscles isontogenetically conserved. This suggests that both the axial skeleton andmusculature are more ontogenetically conserved in relation to the substantialchanges that are observed in the skull and head muscles of developinganurans. J. Morphol. 241:275–282, 1999.