Skip to main content Skip to main navigation menu Skip to site footer
Responsive image
Issue: Vol. 4319 No. 3: 13 Sept. 2017
Type: Article
Published: 2017-09-13
DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.4319.3.5
Page range: 510–530
Abstract views: 162
PDF downloaded: 3

A description of the skeletal morphology of Rana pyrenaica (Anura: Ranidae), with comments on functional morphology, ecological adaptation and relationships with other Iberian ranids

IPHES, Institut Català de Paleoecologia Humana i Evolució Social, Zona Educacional 4, Campus Sescelades URV (Edifici W3), 43007 Tarragona, Spain. Area de Prehistoria, Universitat Rovira i Virgili (URV), Avinguda de Catalunya 35, 43002 Tarragona, Spain
Area de Prehistoria, Universitat Rovira i Virgili (URV), Avinguda de Catalunya 35, 43002 Tarragona, Spain
Amphibia taxonomy osteology ecology adaptation to aquatic environment spring-dwelling species Pyrenean mountain range

Abstract

Despite being described in 1993, the skeleton of Rana pyrenaica Serra-Cobo, 1993 has never been investigated. The present publication thus represents the first description of the osteology of the spring-dwelling Pyrenean small brown frog. Its specific status is osteologically supported by some discrete differences. When compared with other Iberian brown frogs, it shows a mosaic of characters that are difficult to interpret. However, according to ecomorphology, R. pyrenaica shares a robust skeleton morphology and various morphological traits with the more terrestrial Rana temporaria (Linnaeus, 1758), but also shares some more aquatic life osteological characters with the aquatic Rana iberica Boulenger, 1879. As well as increasing what is known about R. pyrenaica, this study also aims to facilitate the correct diagnosis of the species in fossil assemblages and its osteological identification as the prey of other vertebrates in trophic studies.

 

References

  1. Arribas, O.J. (2004) Fauna y Paisaje de los Pirineos en la Edad Glaciar. Ed. Lynx, Barcelona, 540 pp.

    Arribas, O., Llamas, A. & Martínez, O. (1995) Rana pirenaica, una especie desconocida. GOROSTI. Cuadernos de Ciencias Naturales, 11, 61–68.

    Bailon, S. (1999) Différenciation ostéologique des Anoures (Amphibia, Anura) de France. In: Desse, J. & Desse-Berset, N. (Eds.), Fiches d’ostéologie animale pour l’archéologie. Centre de Recherches Archéologiques-CNRS, Valbonne, pp. 1–38.

    Blain, H.-A. (2005) Contribution de la paléoherpétofaune (Amphibia & Squamata) à la connaissance de l’évolution du climat et du paysage du Pliocène supérieur au Pléistocène moyen d’Espagne. Unpublished D. Phil. Thesis, Muséum National d’Histoire Naturelle de Paris. Département de Préhistoire. Institut de Paléontologie humaine.

    Blain, H.-A. (2009) Contribution de la paléoherpétofaune (Amphibia & Squamata) à la connaissance de l’évolution du climat et du paysage du Pliocène supérieur au Pléistocène moyen d’Espagne. Treballs del Museu de Geologia de Barcelona, 16, 39–170. Available from: http://tmgb.museucienciesjournals.cat/wp-content/blogs.dir/5/files/TMGB-vol-16-pp-39-170.pdf (accessed 30 July 2017)

    Bolkay, S.J. (1919) Osnove Uporedne Osteologije Anurskih Batrahija. [Elements of the comparative osteology of the tailless batrachians]. Glasnika Zemaljskog Muzeja u Bosni i Hercegovini. Sarejevo, 31, 275–357.

    Carranza, S. & Arribas, O. (2008) Genetic uniformity of Rana pyrenaica Serra-Cobo, 1993 across its distribution range: a preliminary study with mtDNA sequences. Amphibia-Reptilia, 29, 579–582.
    https://doi.org/10.1163/156853808786230389

    Crochet, P.-A., Dubois, A., Ohler, A. & Tunner, H. (1995) Rana (Pelophylax) ridibunda Pallas, 1771, Rana (Pelophylax) perezi Seoane, 1885 and their associated klepton (Amphibia, Anura) : morphological diagnoses and description of a new taxon. Bulletin du Muséum national d'Histoire naturelle, 17 (1–2), 11–30.

    Duchateau, S., Berroneau, M., Cantegrel, L., Goyeneche, L., Reinach-Hirtzbach, J. & Tillo, S. (2012) Découverte de Rana pyrenaica Serra-Cobo, 1993 (Anura, Ranidae) sur le versant nord des Pyrénées. Bulletin de la Société herpétologique de France, 142–143, 51–63.

    Durfort, M. (1978) Tècniques de transparentat d'invertebrats i d'esquelets de vertebrats: aplicacions. Circulars Institució Catalana D'Història Natural, 1, 1–9.

    Ecker, A. (1889) The Anatomy of the Frog (Translated by G. Haslam). Clarendon Press, Oxford, xvi + 449 pp.

    Esteban, M. & Sanchiz, B. (1985) Herpetofauna de Erralla. Munibe (Antropología y Arqueología), 37, 81–86.

    Frost, D.R., Grant, T., Faivovich, J., Bain, R.H., Haas, A., Haddad, C.F.B., de Sá, R.O., Channing, A., Wilkinson, M., Donnellan, S.C., Raxworthy, C.J., Campbell, J.A., Blotto, B.L., Moler, P., Drewes, R.C., Nussbaum, R.A., Lynch, J.D., Green, D.M. & Wheeler, W.C. (2006) The Amphibian Tree of Life. Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History, 297, 1–370.
    https://doi.org/10.1206/0003-0090(2006)297[0001:TATOL]2.0.CO;2

    García-París, M. (2000) Rana (Rana) pyrenaica Serra-Cobo, 1993. In: García-París, M., Montori, A. & Herrero, P. (Coords.), Amphibia, Lissamphibia, In: Ramos M.A. (Eds.), Fauna Iberica. Vol. 24. Museo Nacional de Ciencias Naturales, CSIC, Madrid, pp. 449–453.

    Gleed-Owen, C.P. (1998) Quaternary herpetofaunas of the British Isles: Taxonomic Descriptions, Palaeoenvironmental Reconstructions, and Biostratigraphic Implications. Unpublished D. Phil. Thesis, Coventry University. Available from: https://curve.coventry.ac.uk/open/file/8ee6cd03-3f4f-aef0-7889-1b1783d4efd5/1/Gleed-Owen.pdf (accessed 30 July 2017)

    Gosá, A., Rubio, X. & Iraola, A. (2010) Rana pirenaica. Una reliquia del Pirineo. Aranzadi: Leitzaran Grafikak, 51 pp.

    Grossembacher, K. & Vences, M. (2014) Ranidae Rafinesque 1814 – Echte Frösche In: Grossembacher, K. (Ed.), Handbuch der Reptilien und Amphibien Europas. Froschlurche III A. AULA Verlag, Wiebelsheim, pp. 1–9.

    Llamas, A., Martínez-Gil, O. & Arribas, O. (1998) Rana pyrenaica, a new species for the French herpetofauna. Boletín de la Asociación Herpetológica Española, 9, 12–13.

    Llamas, A. & Martinez-Gil, O. (2005) Distribución de rana pirenaica (Rana pyrenaica) en Navarra, nuevos límites occidentales y cota mínima para la especie. Boletín de la Asociación Herpetológica Española, 15, 66–68.

    Llamas-Saiz, A., Martínez Gil, O. & Arribas, O.J. (2012) Rana pyrenaica Serra-Cobo, 1993. In: Lescure, J. & Massary de, J.C. (Coords.), Atlas des Amphibiens et Reptiles de France. Muséum national d’Histoire naturelle (collection Inventaires & biodiversité), Biotope, Mèze, pp. 138–139.

    Lynch, J.D. (1969) Evolutionary relationships and osteology of the frog family Leptodactylidae. Unpublished D. Phil. Thesis, University of Kansas, Lawrence, 1598 pp.

    Odierna, G., Aprea, G., Arribas, O. & Capriglione, T. (2001) A chromosomal study of the Pyrenean endemic brown frog species, Rana pyrenaica, and various Italian populations of R. dalmatina and R. italica. Folia-Zoologica, 50 (1), 55–63.

    Prud’Homme, O. (2003) La Grenouille des Pyrénées… Une Relique de l’Ère glaciaire. Étude de la Répartition et du Milieu de Rana pyrenaica dans le Massif d’Iraty. Unpublished Report BTSA GPN, 40 pp.

    Ratnikov, V. Yu. (2001) Osteology of Russian toads and frogs for paleontological researches. Acta zoologica cracoviensia, 44 (1), 1–23.

    Sanchiz, F.B. (1998) Salientia. In: Wellnhofer, P. (Ed.), Handbuch der Paläoherpetologie. Bd. 4. Verlag Dr. Friedrich Pfeil, München, pp. 1–275.

    Sanchiz, B., Schleich, H.H. & Esteban, M. (1993) Water Frogs (Ranidae) from the Oligocene of Germany. Journal of Herpetology, 27 (4), 486–489.
    https://doi.org/10.2307/1564847

    Serra-Cobo, J. (1993) Descripción de una nueva especie europea de rana parda (Amphibia, Anura, Ranidae). Alytes, 11, 1–15.

    Serra-Cobo, J. (1997) Rana pyrenaica Serra-Cobo, 1993. In: Pleguezuelos, J.M. (Ed.), Distribución y Biogeografía de los Anfibios y Reptiles en España y Portugal. Editorial Universidad de Granada, Granada, pp. 167–168.

    Serra-Cobo, J. (2002) Rana pyrenaica Serra-Cobo, 1993 - Rana pirenaica. In: Pleguezuelos, J.M., Marquez, R. & Lizana, M. (Eds.), Atlas y Libro Rojo de los Anfibios y Reptiles de España. Dirección General de Conservación de la Naturaleza, Madrid, pp. 129–130.

    Serra-Cobo, J., Lacroix, G. & White, S. (1998) Comparison between the ecology of the new European frog Rana pyrenaica and that of four Pyrenean amphibians. Journal of Zoology, London, 246, 147–154.
    https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1469-7998.1998.tb00143.x

    Serra-Cobo, J., Marques-Bonet, T. & Martínez-Rica, J.P. (2000) Ecological segregation between Rana pyrenaica and Rana temporaria, and differential predation of Euproctus asper on their tadpoles. Netherlands Journal of Zoology, 50 (1), 65–73.
    https://doi.org/10.1163/156854200505810

    Taylor, W.R. (1967) An enzyme method of clearing and staining small vertebrates. Proceedings United States National Museum, Smithsonian Institution, 122 (nº 3596).
    https://doi.org/10.5479/si.00963801.122-3596.1

    Trueb, L. (1973) Bones, frogs and evolution. In: Vial, J.L. (Ed.), Evolutionary Biology of the Anurans, Contemporary Research on Major Problems. University of Missouri Press, Columbia, pp. 65–132.

    Trueb, L. (1993) Patterns of cranial diversity among the Lissamphibia. In: Hanken, J. & Hall, B.K. (Eds.), The skull. University of Chicago Press, Chicago, pp. 255–343.

    Veith, M., Vences, M., Vieites, D.R., Nieto-Román, S. & Palanca, A. (2002) Genetic differentiation and population structure within the Spanish common frogs (Rana temporaria complex; Ranidae, Amphibia). Folia Zoologica, 51 (2), 307–318.

    Veith, M., Kosuch, J. & Vences, M. (2003) Climatic oscillations triggered post-Messinian speciation of Western Palearctic brown frogs (Amphibia, Anura, Ranidae). Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution, 26, 310–327.
    https://doi.org/10.1016/S1055-7903(02)00324-X

    Vences, M., Kupfer, A. & Llorente, G.A. (1997) Description of the larval stages of Pyrenean frog, Rana pyrenaica Serra-Cobo, 1993 (Amphibia: Ranidae). Bollettino Museo Regionale di Scienze Naturali, Torino, 15 (1), 1–23.

    Vences, M., Hauswaldt, J.S., Steinfartz, S., Rupp, O., Goesmann, A., Künzel, S., Orozco-terWengel, P., Vieites, D.R., Nieto-Roman, S., Haas, S., Laugsch, C., Gehara, M., Bruchmann, S., Pabijan, M., Ludewig, A.-K., Rudert, D., Angelini, C., Borkin, L.J., Crochet, P.-A., Crottini, A., Dubois, A., Ficetola, G.F., Galán, P., Geniez, P., Hachtel, M., Jovanovic, O., Litvinchuk, S.N., Lymberakis, P., Ohler, A. & Smirnov, N.A. (2013) Radically different phylogeographies and patterns of genetic variation in two European brown frogs, genus Rana. Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution, 68, 657–670.
    https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ympev.2013.04.014

    Vences, M. & Grossembacher, K. (2014) Rana pyrenaica Serra-Cobo 1993- Pyrenäen-Bachfrosch. In: Grossembacher, K. (Ed.), Handbuch der Reptilien und Amphibien Europas. Froschlurche III A. AULA Verlag, Wiebelsheim, pp. 293–304.

    Vieites, D.R. & Vences, M. (2003) Rana pirenaica - Rana pyrenaica. In: Carrascal, L.M. & Salvador, A. (Eds.), Enciclopedia Virtual de los Vertebrados Españoles. Museo Nacional de Ciencias Naturales, Madrid. Available from: http://www.vertebradosibericos.org/ (accessed 26 November 2016)

    Yuan, Z.-Y., Zhou, W.-W., Chen, X., Poyarkov, N.A., Chen, H.-M., Jang-Liaw, N.-H., Chou, W.-H., Matzke, N.J., Lizuka, K., Min, M.-S., Kuzmin, S.L., Zhang, Y.-P., Cannatella, D.C., Hillis, D.M. & Che, J. (2016) Spatiotemporal Diversification of the True Frogs (Genus Rana): A Historical Framework for a Widely Studied Group of Model Organisms. Systematic Biology, 65, 824–842.
    https://doi.org/10.1093/sysbio/syw055