Hematological parameters can provide key information to an animal health status. However, this information is usually hard to obtain. Here, we described hematological parameters of Leptodactylus podicipinus in the Brazilian Pantanal. We measured red blood cell morphometrics, erythrogram, and leukogram. We also tested for phylogenetic signal in erythrogram and leukogram of 48 frog species from 15 families, testing if body size explains their variation. Lymphocytes were the most abundant leukocytes (> 60%) in Leptodactylus podicipinus, followed by neutrophils (∼10%). Given that L. podicipinus is an abundant and widely distributed species in central Brazil, knowing its hematological pattern can help stablish a baseline and improve its use as a bioindicator of environmental degradation. Mean corpuscular hemoglobin and value contributed more to the phylomorphospace of erythrogram, in which Leptodactylus spp. and Hypsiboas raniceps had lower values of these variables, while Bufotes viridis and Hyla arborea had high values. The phylogenetic signal was spread throughout the dimensions of leukogram phylomorphospace. The variables that most contributed to it were total leukocytes counts, lymphocytes and neutrophils. We also found a moderate phylogenetic signal for both the erythrogram and leukogram. Accordingly, body size accounted for a low proportion of variation in both the leukogram (4.7%) and erythrogram (0.57%). By combining phylogenetic comparative methods with hematological parameters, our results add a new perspective on the evolution of blood cell physiology in frogs.

No abstract

No abstract

Testicular melanization in anurans may be absent or present with different degrees of intensity. When present, the color is due to the concentration of melanocytes in external (surface) and interstitial tissue. The function of this coloration is not fully known and we ask if melanization during testicular development, in species with highly pigmented testes in adults, is correlated with germ cells maturation. To do so, we selected four anuran species with highly pigmented testes. Species differed in the amount of interstitial melanin. Pigmentation increased throughout ontogeny, but with interspecific variation in the onset and rate. The rate of melanization progressed with testicular differentiation. A threshold for interstitial pigmentation seems to be reached with the advancement of spermatogenesis. Overall, testicular pigmentation adds a new chapter to the study of sexual maturity in anurans.