The big potential of the small frog Eleutherodactylus coqui

Abstract

The Puerto Rican coquí frog Eleutherodactylus coqui (E. coqui) is both a cultural icon and a species with an unusual natural history that has attracted attention from researchers in a number of different fields within biology. Unlike most frogs, the coquí frog skips the tadpole stage, which makes it of interest to developmental biologists. The frog is best known in Puerto Rico for its notoriously loud mating call, which has allowed researchers to study aspects of social behavior such as vocal communication and courtship, while the ability of coquí to colonize new habitats has been used to explore the biology of invasive species. This article reviews research on the natural history of E. coqui and opportunities for future research.

Evolution of visual guanylyl cyclases and their activating proteins with respect to clade and species-specific visual system adaptation

“…While some might be expressed in larval stages, other could be active in adults only. To test this hypothesis we analyzed the GCAP situation in the common coquí Eleutherodactylus coqui, a frog species that has no free swimming tadpoles ( Townsend and Stewart, 1985 ; Westrick et al, 2022 ). Coquis lay eggs in palm trees and the larvae remain in the eggs until mature frogs emerge, thereby bypassing the tadpole stage.…”

Direct development or endotrophic tadpole? Morphological aspects of the early ontogeny of the plump toad Osornophryne occidentalis (Anura: Bufonidae)

“…The development of the midgut in exotrophic tadpoles reflects its correlation with trophic ecology. Omnivorous tadpoles often have long and coiled intestines when compared to tadpoles with specialized feeding habits like macrophagy, oophagy and carnivory; also, ontogenetic changes in diet (e.g., during metamorphosis) promote deep remodeling of the intestine (e.g., Wickramasinghe et al, 2007;Womble et al, 2016). In early embryos of E. coqui, the gut is an undifferentiated yolk-filled sac, and subtle ontogenetic changes involve a length increase and a gradual twisting of the gut ends; after hatching, yolk provision decreases and a short, adult-like gut develops (Langer, 2003).…”

“…The long, low-finned tail of Osornophryne embryos shows a rather tadpole-like appearance. The contribution to gas-exchange of tail fins in this and other direct-developing species remains to be further studied (e.g., Westrick et al, 2022).…”

Form, function, foam: evolutionary ecology of anuran nests and nesting behaviour

“…Intra- and inter-specific variation in nesting and the relative simplicity of nesting behaviour make anuran systems promising. Anurans are not as well equipped with genomic tools as some other clades, but this is rapidly changing and anurans offer the convenience of large, externally fertilized embryos and independent offspring that provide advantages compared to other vertebrate nesters [118,119], including birds and mammals where fertilization (and in the case of mammals early development) is internal, and altricial young depend on parents for extensive care. Moreover, genomic analyses have the potential to pinpoint connections between the behavioural and physiological aspects of nesting.…”