SRμCT in a study on the functional cranial morphology of amphibians

The extant amphibians (i.e. caecilians, salamanders, and frogs) are characterized by a biphasic lifecycle in that an aquatic larva passes through metamorphosis to become a terrestrial adult [1]. Amphibians show a high diversity in feeding habits that often relate to different stages of development. Amphibian feeding modes comprise suction feeding and suspension feeding in aquatic larvae [2-4] and biting, tongue projection, and tongue protraction in adults [2, 5]. The different feeding modes are predicted to put different functional demands on the amphibian skull. Here we applied synchrotron x-ray radiation based high resolution micro computed tomography (SRμCT) to study the functional morphology of amphibian feeding systems at different stages of development to conclude on functional and developmental constraints that the biphasic lifecycle puts on the skull.