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Type: Correspondence
Published: 2014-03-18
Page range: 497–500
Abstract views: 41
PDF downloaded: 1

The tadpole of the Swelled Vent Frog Feirana quadranus (Anura: Ranidae): Oral, chondrocranial and hyobranchial morphology

Jiangsu Key Laboratory for Biodiversity and Biotechnology, College of Life Sciences, Nanjing Normal University, Nanjing 210023, Jiangsu, China
College of Life Sciences, Anqing Normal University, Anqing, 246011, Anhui, China
Jiangsu Key Laboratory for Biodiversity and Biotechnology, College of Life Sciences, Nanjing Normal University, Nanjing 210023, Jiangsu, China
Amphibia Anura Ranidae

Abstract

The genus Feirana includes three species of dicroglossid frogs, but much controversy on the classification and species content of this group still exists (Yang et al., 2011). Detailed information on tadpole morphology is of great importance in classifying amphibian species but, unfortunately, morphology of Feirana tadpoles remains poorly known. Here, we describe body shape, oral disc, chondrocranial and hyobranchial anatomy of Feirana tadpoles using the Swelled Vent Frog F. quadranus Liu, Hu & Yang, 1960 as a representative. This species is currently known to occur only in seven provinces (Gansu, Henan, Hubei, Shaanxi, Hunan, Shanxi and Sichuan) in the central part of China (Fei et al., 2005).