What originally appeared to be only an external cast of an anuran 'mummy' from the Quercy Phosphorites (southwestern France) was described as Rana plicata during the 19th century. Its geographical provenance is only vaguely known; therefore its precise age within the Paleogene was uncertain. The taxon was erected on the basis of the external morphology of the specimen, which includes few diagno...

Using high-speed video motion analysis, the kinematics of feeding behavior was studied in Rana pipiens. Rana pipiens exhibits differing behavior patterns depending upon prey type. When feeding on small prey such as waxworms, R. pipiens uses tongue protraction to catch prey, minimizing head and body movements. When feeding on the larger earthworm, it arches its body, flexes the head downwards an...

The present study examines amphibian metabolic activity - particularly conjugation - by analysis of pyrene (a four ring, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon) metabolites using high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) with fluorescence detector (FD), a mass spectrometry detector (MS) system and kinetic analysis of conjugation enzymes. Six amphibian species were exposed to pyrene (dissolved in w...

The epidermis of adult Rana pipiens has been studied by electron microscopy and histological and histochemical methods. It was found that the epidermis is engaged in the production of both keratin and mucus. The basal cells are mainly filled with tonofilaments, whereas the cells located in the mid-portion of the epidermis contain both tonofilaments and mucous granules. Golgi vesicles and endopl...

Road traffic and the loss of forests are both known to have negative effects on anurans. However, the relative importance of these two predictors is poorly understood because forest cover in the landscape is usually negatively correlated with the density of roads and traffic. To evaluate the independent effects of traffic and forest cover, we selected 36 ponds near Ottawa, Canada, at the center...