Lesson 12 Flashcards
(37 cards)
major synapomorphies
substantial gas exchange – skin has to be moist in order to exchange gas
- skin glands – keep skin moist – poision glands
– carnivery –> all exant adult amphibians are carniverous
salamanders
10 families of about 750 species
- almost entirely in NC
- gait of salamanders are very similar to that of the early tetrapod
- lot of axial bending, limbs not used for propelling
pedomorphoisism (salamanders)
- widespread
- absence of eyelids – not usually present in early embryos
- functional lateral line system
- external gills
all salamanders lack ribs
- no intercostal ventilation
- instead they use a buccal pump
—- presents a conflict because it is not compativle with tongue protrousion
plethodontidae (salamanders) (lungless)
- famous for ability for projecting tonguse rapidley to catch prey
- the distance a muscle can extend is proportional to the length of that muscle
- no lungs
- do all of the respiration across moist skin
- loss of lungs led to specific hypbranchial specialization
- requires some tradeoffs to being this specialized
- comes down to a conflict to feeding as an adult and feeding as a larvae
comes down to a conflict to feeding as an adult and feeding as a larvae
- aquatic larvae (generally) use suction feeding to bring up detritus that is sitting along the bottom of the ponds
- that sucction capability requires a large ceratobranchial to engage that succion like force
- having a big ceretobranchial conflicts with having the protrouding tongue mechanisms
- this kind og highly specialized form of plethodontiade salamander lack aquatic larvae thus no large ceratobranchial
nasolabial groove
functions in chemoreception
- taking things up like pheremones left by neighbors
- if you put one salamandeer in a neighboors habitat - the homeowner expressed a lot of hostility
- they are extremely terrirorial
- if done a second time – not as aggressive
- use the nasolabial gooves and chemoreception to detect whwther or not they know the salamander
- attack is much less intense if the paper used in the experiment had the same scent again
DEER - enemy - pheeremone – neighboors treated less aggressively
autotomy
- salamanders can loose a part of their tail or body and have to grow it back
- animals with messed up nasolabial grooves don’t pick up on the communication signals –> end up becoming loners
anurans
- almost everywhere
- true toads – phylogenetically distinct group
- poison dart frogs –> synthesize poision from ants
extant anurans
- forward directed eyes
- fused sacrum
- urostyle
- fused tibia and fibula
- loss of vertebrae, stiffening of vertebrae that remain
- flexible shock absorber
jumpers
- long hindlimbs
- medium length forelimbs
hoppers v. jumpers
- hoppers tend to have poison glands and jumpers do not
- jumpers tend to get away from their predators by jumping
tree frogs
- very good at clinging to very straight substrates
- modifications to toes called toe disks
caecilian
- some species don’t even have eyes
- burrow exclusively
- protrusible tentacles between eyes and snout – maybe detection of prey or pheremones
amphibians
- most lay eggs but some do not
- in some species – eggs are brooded in the mouth or stomach
^^^^^ adults undergo specific changres in their digestive system to make sure that the offspring are not digested - some have a form of parental care
—– poison frog
—— paternal care as well (really rare)
——- lay egges in these plants that grow on the side of trees that form basins of water –> they lay eggs in those plants (bromiliad) – the father will transport the eggs if the water dies up to a differnt place
caecilians again
- have internal fetalization
- about 75% give live birth as opposed to laying eggs
salamanders internal fertilization
- accomplish internal fertilization WITHOUT a penis
HOW - males deposit these “packets” of material that contain their sperm and will drop them on the floor during the mating ritual – if the female wants to, she will pick up the spermatophore and place it in her cloaca ergo internal fertilization
clepogenesis
- no males, only females
- produce eggs that get actvivated by the sperm of another species —> the sperm does not get into the egg
– can be triploid or even pentaploid
courtship of salamanders
pheremones
- wafting his odor near the female to get her to accept
- most of these behaviors involve communication of information via courtship
sexual dimporhism
physical differences between males and females ( can also have behavioral traits)
why do frogs vocalize
- to attract mates
- to advertise themselves
- mostly exclusively male
the more a male calls – the greater the volume of oxygen per gram per hour (VO2) –» tells us that calling is metabolically exertive
- a lot of their energy is spent on this behavior
frog sitting in chanber
- chamber is sealed except for a tube with a measured quantity of oxygen
- other end is another tube to measure the output of oxygen
^^^ this apparatus allows the scientists to quantify the oxygen consumption
what do female frogs prefer
mates who call the most
– exhibits their ability/stamina – physical prowness
- to pass the gene to their ofspring
good gene hypothesis
females show preferences for these traits becasue the continuous calling mean good genes and she wants them to be passed onto her offspring