Abstract
Dissections of >1,200 wild-caught cane toads (Rhinella marina) in tropical Australia confirm a laboratory report that anurans can expel foreign objects from the coelom by incorporating them into the urinary bladder. The foreign objects that we found inside bladders included a diverse array of items (e.g., grass seeds, twigs, insect prey, parasites), many of which may have entered the coelom via rupture of the gut wall. In some cases, the urinary bladder was fused to other organs including liver, fat bodies, ovaries, Bidder’s organs, lungs, mesentery, stomach wall, gall bladder, and the abdominal wall. Acanthocephalan parasites (of a range of developmental stages) were identified from the walls of the urinary bladders of three cane toads. This organ may play a significant role in destroying or excreting metazoan parasites, as well as inanimate objects.
Highlights
A recent experimental study documented a remarkable mechanism by which anuran amphibians can expel foreign objects from their coelom: the objects can be incorporated into the bladder, and later expelled with urine [1]
This route of object expulsion was reported in Australian native frogs (Litoria spp. and Cyclorana australis) and in invasive cane toads (Rhinella marina, previously Bufo marinus; [1])
There was a hole in the stomach wall and the adjacent lung through which the wasp was positioned, with its posterior still inside the stomach and its head inside the lung. Another toad had large sharp grass seeds in the coelom; some of these seeds had pierced the right lung and were partially engulfed by the urinary bladder; additional seeds were free inside the bladder
Summary
A recent experimental study documented a remarkable mechanism by which anuran amphibians can expel foreign objects from their coelom: the objects (surgically implanted beads and radiotelemetry transmitters) can be incorporated into the bladder, and later expelled with urine [1] This route of object expulsion was reported in Australian native frogs (Litoria spp. and Cyclorana australis) and in invasive cane toads (Rhinella marina, previously Bufo marinus; [1]). At the completion of a frog’s leap, the ventral surface contacts the ground with considerable force [2,3], raising the dangerous prospect of the skin being penetrated by sharp objects Amphibians swallow their prey whole and often still alive; so the sharp chitinous body parts of an ingested insect may pierce the gastrointestinal tract and enter the coelom. PLOS ONE | DOI:10.1371/journal.pone.0134036 August 12, 2015
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
