The Neotropical frog genera Ceratophrys, Chacophrys and Lepidobatrachus form the monophyletic family Ceratophryidae. Although in- and out-group relationships are not fully resolved, the monophyly of the three genera is well supported by both morphological and molecular data. Much is known about the morphology of the ceratophryids, but there is little comparative information on how modification of a common ancestral developmental pathway played a role in shaping their particular body plans. Herein, we review morphological variation during ceratophryid ontogeny in order to explore the role of development in their evolution. The ceratophryids are collectively characterized by rapid larval development with respect to other anurans, yet the three genera differ in their postmetamorphic growth rates to sexual maturity. Derived traits in the group can be divided into many homoplastic features that evolved in parallel with those of anurans with fossorial/burrowing behaviors in semiarid environments, and apomorphies. Morphological novelties have evolved in their feeding mechanism, which makes them capable of feeding on exceptional large prey. Lepidobatrachus is unusual in having reduced the ecomorphological differences between its larvae and adults. As a result, both the larvae and the frog are similarly able to capture large prey underwater. Some unique features in Lepidobatrachus are differentiated in the tadpole and then exaggerated in the adult (e.g., the posterior displaced jaw articulation) in a manner unobserved in any other anurans.

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Anurans have three primary types of locomotion: walking, jumping, and swimming. Additionally, they may dig, climb, grasp, etc. All adult anurans have four limbs, with four fingers on the hands and five toes on the feet. We summarized and updated knowledge on the interspecific variation within anuran limbs, then discuss how developmental constraints (e.g., in size) and novelties may have influenced anuran diversification through the locomotion. We analyze morphological variation from limb bud stages up to the final limb form resulting from certain skeletal organization and growth. We find limited morphometric variations in the skeleton of different developmental modules (i.e., skull, trunk, urostyle, limbs) indicate that the anuran body shape is largely constrained. We identify specializations of the stylopodium, zeugopodium, and proximal carpals/tarsals that have evolved to facilitiate saltatorial locomotion. We show that the anuran prepollex and prehallux are not vestigial digits and that they have come to serve specialized function. Medial rotation of the manus in anurans appears to have evolved to help distribute the force of impact upon landing at the end of a jump. Additional skeletal elements in anuran limbs are intercalary elements and sesamoids. The intercalary elements appear within neobatrachians and are integrated with digital pads in lineages capable of locomotion on smooth vertical surfaces. They have allowed arboreal anurans to occupy a wide range of arboreal habitats.

The growing number of gender studies encourages more refined analyzes and greater conceptualization of the underlying processes of gender gap in science. In Herpetology, previous studies have described gender disparities and a scrutiny of individual interactions may help revealing the mechanisms modelling the global pattern. In this contribution we modeled a co-authorship network, a previously unexplored methodology for gender studies in this discipline, in addition to a broad and classic bibliometric analysis of the discipline. Co-authorship networks were modelled for two South American journals, because this geo-political location is considered to present the best gender balance within general scientific communities. However, we found a pattern of male preferential connections (male homophily) that marginalizes women and maintains the gender gap, at both regional and global scales. This interpretation arises from results coming from multiple analyses, such as high homophily index in collaboration networks, lower female representation in articles than expected in a non-gender biased environment, the decrease of female co-authors when the article leader is a man, and the extreme masculinization of the editorial boards. The homophilic dynamics of the publication process reveals that academic activity is pervasive to unbalanced power relationships. Personal interactions shape the collective experience, tracing back to the Feminist Theory’s axiom: “the personal is political”.