The Reproductive Biology and Larvae of the First Tadpole-Bearing Frog,Limnonectes larvaepartus
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| Authors: | Mirza D. Kusrini Jodi J. L. Rowley Luna R. Khairunnisa Glenn M. Shea Ronald Altig |
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| Affiliation: | 1. Department of Forest Resources Conservation and Ecotourism, Bogor Agricultural University, Bogor, Indonesia.; 2. Australian Museum Research Institute, Australian Museum, Sydney, NSW, Australia.; 3. Faculty of Veterinary Science, University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW, Australia.; 4. Department of Biological Sciences, Mississippi State University, Mississippi State, MS, United States of America.; Leibniz-Institute of Freshwater Ecology and Inland Fisheries, Germany, |
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| Abstract: | Most of the reproductive modes of frogs include an exotrophic tadpole, but a number of taxa have some form of endotrophic development that lacks a feeding tadpole stage. The dicroglossid frog genus Limnonectes ranges from China south into Indonesia. The breeding biologies of the approximately 60 described species display an unusual diversity that range from exotrophic tadpoles to endotrophic development in terrestrial nests. There have been mentions of oviductal production of typical, exotrophic tadpoles in an undescribed species of Limnonectes from Sulawesi, Indonesia. Here we examine newly collected specimens of this species, now described as L. larvaepartus and present the first substantial report on this unique breeding mode. Typical exotrophic tadpoles that are retained to an advanced developmental stage in the oviducts of a female frog are birthed into slow-flowing streams or small, non-flowing pools adjacent to the streams. |
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