Morphogenesis of Vomeronasal Organ of Pelophylax ridibundus (Amphibia, Anura)

The vomeronasal organ.

The vomeronasal organ (VNO) is a chemoreceptor organ enclosed in a cartilaginous capsule and separated from the main olfactory epithelium. The vomeronasal neurons have two distinct types of receptor that differ from each other and from the large family of odorant receptors. The VNO receptors are seven-transmembrane receptors coupled to GTP-binding protein, but appear to activate inositol 1,4,5-...

Chromosome evolution in dendropsophini (Amphibia, Anura, Hylinae).

Dendropsophini is the most species-rich tribe within Hylidae with 234 described species. Although cytogenetic information is sparse, chromosome numbers and morphology have been considered as an important character system for systematic inferences in this group. Using a diversity of standard and molecular techniques, we describe the previously unknown karyotypes of the genera Xenohyla, Scarthyla...

Chromosome evolution in Cophomantini (Amphibia, Anura, Hylinae)

The hylid tribe Cophomantini is a diverse clade of Neotropical treefrogs composed of the genera Aplastodiscus, Boana, Bokermannohyla, Hyloscirtus, and Myersiohyla. The phylogenetic relationships of Cophomantini have been comprehensively reviewed in the literature, providing a suitable framework for the study of chromosome evolution. Employing different banding techniques, we studied the chromos...

The Vomeronasal Organ: A Neglected Organ

The identity of Rana lutea Molina, 1782 (Amphibia, Anura).

Rana lutea is one of the two anuran species described in 1782 by the Chilean born priest and naturalist Juan Ignacio Molina, and its nomenclatural history is confusing. After a detailed revision of the pertinent literature, we demonstrate that Bufo thaul Schneider, 1799, is a junior objective synonym of Rana lutea Molina, 1782, but based on the usage of both nomina, we revert the precedence and...