Function, 2: Jumping Performance of Semiaquatic, Terrestrial, and Arboreal Frogs

Zug, George R. Anuran Locomotion—Structure and Function, 2: Jumping Performance of Semiaquatic, Terrestrial, and Arboreal Frogs. Smithsonian Contribution to Zoology, number 276, 31 pages, 9 figures, 15 tables, 1978.—Frogs evolved as jumping machines. The earliest recognized anuran fossil possessed a foreshortened body and elongated hindlimbs, primary adaptations for jumping. The majority of extant frogs retain jumping as their primary mode of locomotion. Eighty species of frogs were tested to determine their absolute and relative (jumping distance divided by snout-vent length) jumping abilities. The species include representatives from the Ascaphidae, Bufonidae, Dendrobatidae, Pelodryadidae, Discoglossidae, Hylidae, Leptodactylidae, Microhylidae, Myobatrachidae, Pelobatidae, and Ranidae. Jumping performance is examined relative to taxonomic and habitat group, fatigue, body size, and sex. The ranking of jumping ability (distance jumped divided by body length) among the sampled species from weakest to strongest is Bufonidae, Pelobatidae, Discoglossidae, Microhylidae, Ranidae, Leptodactylidae, Dendrobatidae, Ascaphidae, Myobatrachidae, Hylidae, and Pelodryadidae for the families of frogs and semifossorial terrestrial, treetop arboreal, semiaquatic-terrestrial, terrestrial, scrub arboreal, and grass arboreal for the habitat groupings. Weak jumping species show little evidence of fatigue, whereas strong jumpers show a progressive decline in performance. Males tend to jump farther than equivalent-sized females, although the opposite or neutral situation occurs in a few species. Both interand intraspecifically, large frogs jump farther than small ones; however, a comparison of relative ability shows small frogs to be the strongest jumpers. OFFICIAL PUBLICATION DATE is hands tamped in a limited number of initial copies and is recorded in the Institution's annual report, Smithsonian Year. SERIES COVER DESIGN: The coral Montastrea cavernosa (Linnaeus). Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data Zug, George R. 1938Anuran locomotion—structure and function. (Smithsonian contributions to zoology ; no. 276) Part 1 was published in Copeia, v. 4, 1972. Bibliography: p. 1. Anura 2. Animal locomotion. 3. Animal jumping. I. Title. II. Series: Smithsonian Institution. Smithsonian contributions to zoology ; no. 276. QL1.S54 no. 276 [QL668.E2] 591'.08s [597'.8] 78-5157