Early development in animals is guided by the RNA reserves of the egg (see Davidson, 1986 for a review), and therefore variations in eggs might correlate with changes in their patterns of early development. Frogs are organisms especially suitable for analyzing the relationship of oogenesis to development, because many frog species have evolved distinctive changes to avoid or diminish their peri...

Ranidae is a large anuran group with a nearly cosmopolitan distribution. We investigated the phylogenetic relationships and early biogeographic history of ranid frogs, using 104 representatives of all subfamilies and families, sampled from throughout their distribution. Analyses of approximately 1570 bp of nuclear gene fragments (Rag-1, rhod, Tyr) and approximately 2100 bp of the mitochondrial ...

Two forms of Staurois that are differentiated by body size occur parapatrically in the Crocker Range, Sabah, Borneo. Analyses of a total of 1,499 bp of the mitochondrial cytochrome b, 12S rRNA, and 16S rRNA genes revealed that the two forms could be completely split genetically. The two forms could be also clearly differentiated morphologically, not only by snout-vent length but also by the rel...

A new species of brown frog Rana luanchuanensis Zhao & Yuan, sp. n. is described from Luanchuan County, western Henan, central China. The mitochondrial genealogy suggests that the new species is the sister taxon to the clade including R. amurensis and R. coreana, and is separated by uncorrected pairwise distances more than 12.5%. Morphologically, this new species differs from its congeners by a...

We used morphological and genetic data to assess the taxonomic status of Rana amurensis coreana and R. a. amurensis. Morphological comparisons revealed these two subspecies to be different from each other in size of body, nature of tubercles on dorsal stripe, degree of development in toe webbing, and condition of lateral spots of trunk. They were also different in sequence of mitochondrial 16S ...

Past confusion about leopard frog (genus Rana) species composition in the Tri-State area of the US that includes New York (NY), New Jersey (NJ), and Connecticut (CT) has hindered conservation and management efforts, especially where populations are declining or imperiled. We use nuclear and mitochondrial genetic data to clarify the identification and distribution of leopard frog species in this...

Rewa district is gifted with lot of wetlands significantly Bichhiya, Bihar and Tamas wetland home 12 amphibian species under 5 family. Of which 1 belonged to family Bufonid, 2 microhylid, Rhacophorid, 6 Dicroglossidae Ranidae. Morphometric study was carried out for Duttaphrynus melanotic. Significant variation observed in the morphometric characteristics D. melanotic its Lectotype. Supratympani...

Physical gestures are prominent features of many species' multimodal displays, yet how evolution incorporates body and leg movements into animal signaling repertoires is unclear. Androgenic hormones modulate the production of reproductive signals and sexual motor skills in many vertebrates; therefore, one possibility is that selection for physical signals drives the evolution of androgenic sens...

Pesticides commonly occur in aquatic systems and pose a substantial challenge to the conservation of many taxa. Ecotoxicology has traditionally met this challenge by focusing on short-term, single-species tests and conducting risk assessments based on the most sensitive species tested. Rarely have ecotoxicology data been examined from an evolutionary perspective, and to our knowledge, there has...

In this study, two mountain frogs (Rana camerani and Rana macrocnemis) were collected in the Antalya Province in south-western Turkey during 2001 and 2002 and were examined for helminths. Out of 15 Rana camerani, 10 (66.7%) were infected with 1 or more helminths and out of 20 Rana macrocnemis, 17 (85%) were infected with 1 or more helminths. The helminth fauna of Rana camerani included 4 specie...