Histochemical determination of muscle fiber types in locomotor muscles of anuran amphibians

Abstract

1. 1. A histochemical study using myosin ATPase, succinate dehydrogenase and α-glycerophosphate dehydrogenase reactions and a morphometric analysis with image analyser, was carried out in sartorius and gastrocnemius muscles of two anuran species, Rana perezi and Bufo calamita, that show different locomotor activities. 2. 2. Four types of muscle fiber were found. There were interspecific variations in their proportions, with a predominance of oxidative muscle fibers in Bufo calamita. 3. 3. These results agree with those obtained previously for the metabolic profile of several tissues from both species and point to a clear metabolic basis for the differences in locomotor activities between these two species.