A Novel Reproductive Mode in Frogs: A New Species of Fanged Frog with Internal Fertilization and Birth of Tadpoles |
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| Authors: | Djoko T Iskandar Ben J Evans Jimmy A McGuire |
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| Institution: | 1School of Life Sciences and Technology, Institut Teknologi Bandung, Bandung, Indonesia;2Center for Environmental Genomics, Department of Biology, McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada;3Museum of Vertebrate Zoology and Department of Integrative Biology, University of California, Berkeley, California, United States of America;Leibniz-Institute of Freshwater Ecology and Inland Fisheries, Germany |
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| Abstract: | We describe a new species of fanged frog (Limnonectes larvaepartus) that is unique among anurans in having both internal fertilization and birth of tadpoles. The new species is endemic to Sulawesi Island, Indonesia. This is the fourth valid species of Limnonectes described from Sulawesi despite that the radiation includes at least 15 species and possibly many more. Fewer than a dozen of the 6455 species of frogs in the world are known to have internal fertilization, and of these, all but the new species either deposit fertilized eggs or give birth to froglets. |
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