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Morphometric Variations in the Skin Layers of Frogs: An Exploration Into Their Relation With Ecological Parameters in Leptodactylus (Anura, Leptodactylidae), With an Emphasis on the Eberth‐Kastschenko Layer
Author(s) -
Ponssa María Laura,
Barrionuevo J. Sebastián,
Pucci Alcaide Franco,
Pucci Alcaide Ana
Publication year - 2017
Publication title -
the anatomical record
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.678
H-Index - 62
eISSN - 1932-8494
pISSN - 1932-8486
DOI - 10.1002/ar.23640
Subject(s) - leptodactylidae , stratum , biology , habit , habitat , epidermis (zoology) , zoology , ecology , anatomy , paleontology , psychology , psychotherapist
Leptodactylus is a genus of frogs known to live in diverse habitats and to show both aquatic and terrestrial breeding habits. We studied 21 species of Leptodactylus to explore whether skin structure specialization relates to habitats and habit variation. Morphometric analyses of the skin thickness revealed that phylogeny has a strong influence on variations in the thickness of the epidermis, stratum spongiosum , Eberth‐Kastschenko layer, and stratum compactum , while habitat and habits display no significant correlation. The optimization of the phylogenetic hypothesis suggested that a pattern of intermediate values for skin layer thickness are plesiomorphic for this group. Anat Rec, 2017. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Anat Rec, 300:1895–1909, 2017. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.