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Larvae to adult: skin ontogeny of Physalaemus ephippifer (Anura: Leptodactylidae)

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Abstract

Throughout metamorphic development until adulthood, amphibians have important integumentary adaptations that maintain their physiological needs and protection against predation. The evolution of these strategies in the subfamily Leiuperinae has been elucidated in recent years. In this sense, the knowledge about Physalaemus ephippifer’s skin features can corroborate the ontogenetic changes of these characteristics in the clade. The aims of this work were to study the ontogeny of the skin of P. ephippifer from tadpole to adult. We collected foam nests in temporary ponds as well as adult individuals in a forest fragment. In the laboratory, the animals were classified by stage development, euthanized, and fixed. Sections of the dorsolateral, lumbar, and femoral portions were dissected from the adult individuals. Samples were submitted to histological processing for light microscopy and scanning electron microscopy. In premetamorphosis phase, granular glands development is absent and secretory cells are present. In prometamorphosis, the development of the first glandular rudiments without secretion production begins, also xanthophores. During metamorphosis, mucous glands differentiated before granular glands. Until late metamorphosis ciliated cells persist and epidermis changes to an adultlike. In adults, granular glands show polymorphism with different distributions in the body, despite not having macroglandular structures. In addition, P. ephippifer individuals have few epidermal projections and cryptic coloration. Our results show that despite sharing a few morphological structures with other specimens of the Leiuperinae subfamily, the characteristics present in individuals of P. ephippifer are appropriate to the niche occupied and consistent with the changes that occur throughout their lineage.

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Acknowledgements

The authors thanks the sampling team of Laboratório de Zoologia e Ecologia de Vertebrados. We acknowledge Laboratório de Microanálises/UFPa for helping with SEM analysis and photos and ICMBio for granting animals sampling authorization under SISBIO/77409 protocol. This work was financially supported by Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES) master’s degree grant.

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  1. Laboratório Multidisciplinar de Morfofisiologia Animal, Universidade Federal Do Pará, R. Augusto Corrêa 01, Room 331, Belém, Pará, 66075-110, Brazil

    Juliana L. S. Santos, Verônica R. L. Oliveira-Bahia, Maria Luiza C. e Souza-Ferreira & Adrian José O. dos Reis

  2. Laboratório de Ecologia E Zoologia de Vertebrados, Universidade Federal Do Pará, Belém, Pará, Brazil

    Gleomar F. Maschio

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  1. Juliana L. S. Santos
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Contributions

All authors contributed to the study’s conception and design. Material preparation, data collection and analysis were performed by JLSDS. The first draft of the manuscript was written by JLSDS and all authors commented on previous versions of the manuscript. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.

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Correspondence to Juliana L. S. Santos.

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The authors disclosure no conflict of interests. Animals’ experimentation was conducted accordingly to the Comitê de Ética no Uso de Animais from Universidade Federal do Pará (CEUA/UFPA) under the protocol nº 6371061016. Animals’ sampling was authorized by Instituto Chico Mendes de Conservação da Biodiversidade under the protocol SISBIO/77409.

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Santos, J.L.S., Oliveira-Bahia, V.R.L., Souza-Ferreira, M.L.C.e. et al. Larvae to adult: skin ontogeny of Physalaemus ephippifer (Anura: Leptodactylidae). Zoomorphology 143, 189–202 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00435-023-00624-5

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