Publication detail

Frontoparietal Bone in Extinct Palaeobatrachidae (Anura): Its Variation and Taxonomic Value

ROČEK, Z. BOISTEL, R. LENOIR, N. MAZURIER, A. PIERCE, S. RAGE, J. SMIRNOV, S. SCHWERMANN, A. VALENTIN, X. VENCZEL, M. WUTTKE, M. ZIKMUND, T.

Original Title

Frontoparietal Bone in Extinct Palaeobatrachidae (Anura): Its Variation and Taxonomic Value

Type

journal article in Web of Science

Language

English

Original Abstract

Palaeobatrachidae are extinct frogs from Europe closely related to the Gondwanan Pipidae, which includes Xenopus. Their frontoparietal is a distinctive skeletal element which has served as a basis for establishing the genus Albionbatrachus. Because little was known about developmental and individual variation of the frontoparietal, and its usefulness in delimiting genera and species has sometimes been doubted, we investigate its structure in Palaeobatrachus and Albionbatrachus by means of X-ray high resolution computer tomography (micro-CT). To infer the scope of variation present in the fossil specimens, we also examined developmental and interspecific variation in extant Xenopus. In adults of extinct taxa, the internal structure of the frontoparietal bone consists of a superficial and a basal layer of compact bone, with a middle layer of cancellous bone between them, much as in early amphibians. In Albionbatrachus, the layer of cancellous bone, consisting of small and large cavities, was connected with the dorsal, sculptured surface of the bone by a system of narrow canals; in Palaeobatrachus, the layer of cancellous bone and the canals connecting this layer with the dorsal surface of the frontoparietal were reduced. The situation in Palaeobatrachus robustus from the lower Miocene of France is intermediate- while external features support assignment to Palaeobatrachus, the inner structure is similar to that in Albionbatrachus. It may be hypothesized that sculptured frontoparietals with a well-developed layer of cancellous (i.e., vascularized) bone may indicate adaptation to a more terrestrial way of life, whereas a reduced cancellous layer might indicate a permanent water dweller.

Keywords

Anura; Albionbatrachus; Palaeobatrachus; Xenopus; Palaeobatrachidae; frontoparietale; development; variation

Authors

ROČEK, Z.; BOISTEL, R.; LENOIR, N.; MAZURIER, A.; PIERCE, S.; RAGE, J.; SMIRNOV, S.; SCHWERMANN, A.; VALENTIN, X.; VENCZEL, M.; WUTTKE, M.; ZIKMUND, T.

RIV year

2015

Released

1. 11. 2015

ISBN

1932-8486

Periodical

Anatomical Record-Advances in Integrative Anatomy and Evolutionary Biology

Year of study

298

Number

11

State

United States of America

Pages from

1848

Pages to

1863

Pages count

16

BibTex

@article{BUT117773,
  author="Zbyněk {Roček} and Renaud {Boistel} and Nicolas {Lenoir} and Arnaud {Mazurier} and Stephanie E. {Pierce} and Jean-Claude {Rage} and Sergei V. {Smirnov} and Achim H. {Schwermann} and Xavier {Valentin} and Márton {Venczel} and Michael {Wuttke} and Tomáš {Zikmund}",
  title="Frontoparietal Bone in Extinct Palaeobatrachidae (Anura): Its Variation and Taxonomic Value",
  journal="Anatomical Record-Advances in Integrative Anatomy and Evolutionary Biology",
  year="2015",
  volume="298",
  number="11",
  pages="1848--1863",
  doi="10.1002/ar.23203",
  issn="1932-8486"
}