Genus-specific and Habitat-dependent Plant Ingestion in West African Sabre-toothed Frogs (Anura, Odontobatrachidae: Odontobatrachus)

Schäfer, Marvin; Neira-Salamea, Karla; Sandberger-Loua, Laura; Doumbia, Joseph; Rödel, Mark‐Oliver

doi:10.1655/0733-1347-36.1.2

Cited by 1 publication

(2 citation statements)

References 45 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…Some observations indicate why additional (chemical) signals could be of importance in saber-toothed frogs. All species are torrent specialists, and first data of their breeding ecology showed that eggs are laid in narrow crevices that are not accessible for an amplectant pair [ 61 ]. Consequently, tactile signals (or the exchange of signalling molecules via the skin) are not available to coordinate oviposition and fertilization, requiring another mode of communication.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Consequently, tactile signals (or the exchange of signalling molecules via the skin) are not available to coordinate oviposition and fertilization, requiring another mode of communication. Additionally, there is evidence for violent fighting with potentially fatal outcome, mainly among males, but suspectedly also among females [ 61 ]. The chemical signal may therefore serve as an honest signal to assess fighting ability, where calling may convey deceptive information [ 59 , 62 , 63 ].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Species- and sex-specific chemical composition from an internal gland-like tissue of an African frog family

Schäfer,

Sydow,

Schauer

et al. 2024

Proc. R. Soc. B.

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Intraspecific chemical communication in frogs is understudied and the few published cases are limited to externally visible and male-specific breeding glands. Frogs of the family Odontobatrachidae, a West African endemic complex of five morphologically cryptic species, have large, fatty gland-like strands along their lower mandible. We investigated the general anatomy of this gland-like strand and analysed its chemical composition. We found the strand to be present in males and females of all species. The strand varies in markedness, with well-developed strands usually found in reproductively active individuals. The strands are situated under particularly thin skin sections, the vocal sac in male frogs and a respective area in females. Gas-chromatography/mass spectrometry and multivariate analysis revealed that the strands contain sex- and species-specific chemical profiles, which are consistent across geographically distant populations. The profiles varied between reproductive and non-reproductive individuals. These results indicate that the mandibular strands in the Odontobatrachidae comprise a so far overlooked structure (potentially a gland) that most likely plays a role in the mating and/or breeding behaviour of the five Odontobatrachus species. Our results highlight the relevance of multimodal signalling in anurans, and indicate that chemical communication in frogs may not be restricted to sexually dimorphic, apparent skin glands.

show abstract

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%