Larval anatomy of Dendropsophus decipiens (A. Lutz 1925) (Anura: Hylidae: Dendropsophini) with considerations to larvae of this genus.

Pedro H S Dias,Ana Maria P T De Carvalho-E-Silva,Katyuscia Araujo-Vieira,Victor G D Orrico,Claudia Patricia Tambussi

doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0219716

Abstract

The Dendropsophus decipiens clade comprises four species: D. berthalutzae, D. decipiens, D. haddadi, and D. oliveirai. Tadpoles of these species were described, but data on their internal morphology are lacking. We provide the first description of the buccopharyngeal anatomy, chondrocranial morphology, and cranial, hyoid and hyobranchial musculature of the tadpole of D. decipiens. Larvae of D. decipiens are characterized by the absence of lingual papillae, presence of fan-like papilla on the buccal floor, presence of a single-element suprarostral cartilage, presence of a small triangular process at the basis of the processus muscularis, m. levator mandibulae lateralis inserted on the nasal sac, and m. subarcualis rectus II-IV with a single, continuous slip. Tadpoles are likely macrophagous, although not as specialized as those of other species of the genus, suggesting some degree of diversification on the feeding habits within Dendropsophus.

Highlights

Dendropsophini is a well-supported tribe of hylid treefrogs composed of the genera Dendropsophus and Xenohyla [1,2]
Nine species groups are recognized in Dendropsophus: the D. columbianus, D. garagoensis, D. labialis, D. leucophyllatus, D. marmoratus, D. microcephalus, D. minimus, D. minutus, and D. parviceps groups [3], whose composition have been slightly modified in the last few years (e.g. [11,12,13])
We provide comments on the larval internal morphology of Dendropsophus based on our observations complemented with data from the literature

Summary

Introduction

Dendropsophini is a well-supported tribe of hylid treefrogs composed of the genera Dendropsophus and Xenohyla [1,2]. The relationships of Dendropsophini with other hylid tribes remain uncertain; it is poorly supported as sister taxon of Sphaenorhynchini [3] or as sister taxon of Pseudini [1,4,5,6,7,8]. Dendropsophus is a speciose clade of Neotropical treefrogs comprising 105 species distributed from Southern Mexico to Central-eastern Argentina [9], and the relationships between its species remain poorly known [1,3,4,5,6,7,8]. Nine species groups are recognized in Dendropsophus: the D. columbianus, D. garagoensis, D. labialis, D. leucophyllatus, D. marmoratus, D. microcephalus, D. minimus, D. minutus, and D. parviceps groups [3], whose composition have been slightly modified in the last few years (e.g. [11,12,13]).

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Conclusion