Feeding Specializations and the Classification of Terrestrial Salamanders

Regal, Philip J.

doi:10.2307/2406638

Cited by 63 publications

(60 citation statements)

References 15 publications

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“…One may equally well argue that this first phase with tongue protraction is not new but instead is similar to the pattern of the preparatory phase known from aquatic intraoral prey transport both in fish and salamanders (Reilly and Lauder, 1989;Lauder and Reilly, 1994;. Accordingly, even the first phase in terrestrial prey capture may not be a new achievement but an altered motor pattern already present in aquatic prey transport (Regal, 1966;Reilly and Lauder, 1989;Lauder and Reilly, 1994). In terms of neuromotor control, this would mean that terrestrial feeding in I. alpestris is not a fundamental change of the aquatic motor pattern but the result of recombination of existing motor patterns.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 71%

Masters of change: seasonal plasticity in the prey-capture behavior of the Alpine newtIchthyosaura alpestris(Salamandridae)

Heiss

Aerts

Wassenbergh

2013

Journal of Experimental Biology

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SUMMARYTransitions between aquatic and terrestrial environments are significant steps in vertebrate evolution. These transitions require major changes in many biological functions, including food uptake and transport. The Alpine newt, Ichthyosaura alpestris, is known to show a 'multiphasic lifestyle' where the adult shifts from a terrestrial to an aquatic lifestyle and then back to a terrestrial lifestyle every year as a result of its breeding activity. These transitions correspond to dramatic changes in morphology, physiology and behavior, resulting in distinct aquatic and terrestrial morphotypes. We hypothesized that these shifts go along with changes in prey-capture mechanics to maintain a sufficiently high performance in both environments. We analyzed the preycapture kinematics in the four possible modes: aquatic strikes in the aquatic phase, terrestrial strikes in the terrestrial phase, aquatic strikes in the terrestrial phase and terrestrial strikes in the aquatic phase. A multivariate comparison detected significant kinematic differences between the phase-specific feeding modes. In both the aquatic and the terrestrial phase, I. alpestris uses a suction-feeding mechanism for capturing prey in water. By contrast, I. alpestris uses a jaw-based grasping mechanism with a kinematic profile similar to the aquatic modes for terrestrial prey-capture in its aquatic phase but an elaborate lingual-based prehension mechanism to capture terrestrial prey in the terrestrial phase. These results exhibit a so-far unknown amount of behavioral plasticity in prey-capture behavior that is tuned to the seasonal demands of performance, and exemplify functional mechanisms behind aquatic-terrestrial transitions in vertebrates.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 71%

Masters of change: seasonal plasticity in the prey-capture behavior of the Alpine newtIchthyosaura alpestris(Salamandridae)

Heiss

Aerts

Wassenbergh

2013

Journal of Experimental Biology

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“…Morphologically, Hynobiidae, together with the family Cryptobranchidae, possess some primitive traits such as external fertilization, an angular bone in the lower jaw, and large numbers of microchromosomes (Regal, 1966;Edwards, 1976). Recent molecular analyses also separate Hynobiidae from other extant salamanders early in salamander phylogeny (Roelants et al, 2007;Pyron and Wiens, 2011;Shen et al, 2013).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

A reinvestigation of phylogeny and divergence times of Hynobiidae (Amphibia, Caudata) based on 29 nuclear genes

Chen

Mao

Liang

et al. 2015

Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution

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“…he Asiatic Salamanders, Hynobiidae, represent an early branch of the caudate lineage (1). All living species (Ϸ50, in seven to nine genera; http:͞͞amphibiaweb.org) occur in Asia.…”

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confidence: 99%

Phylogeny, evolution, and biogeography of Asiatic Salamanders (Hynobiidae)

Zhang

Chen

Zhou

et al. 2006

Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A.

146

171

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We sequenced 15 complete mitochondrial genomes and performed comprehensive molecular phylogenetic analyses to study the origin and phylogeny of the Hynobiidae, an ancient lineage of living salamanders. Our phylogenetic analyses show that the Hynobiidae is a clade with well resolved relationships, and our results contrast with a morphology-based phylogenetic hypothesis. These salamanders have low vagility and are limited in their distribution primarily by deserts, mountains, and oceans. Our analysis suggests that the relationships among living hynobiids have been shaped primarily by geography. We show that four-toed species assigned to Batrachuperus do not form a monophyletic group, and those that occur in Afghanistan and Iran are transferred to the resurrected Paradactylodon. Convergent morphological characters in different hynobiid lineages are likely produced by similar environmental selective pressures. Clock-independent molecular dating suggests that hynobiids originated in the Middle Cretaceous [Ϸ110 million years ago (Mya)]. We propose an ''out of North China'' hypothesis for hynobiid origins and hypothesize an ancestral stream-adapted form. Given the particular distributional patterns and our molecular dating estimates, we hypothesize that: (i) the interior desertification from Mongolia to Western Asia began Ϸ50 Mya; (ii) the Tibetan plateau (at least on the eastern fringe) experienced rapid uplift Ϸ40 Mya and reached an altitude of at least 2,500 m; and (iii) the Ailao-Red River shear zone underwent the most intense orogenic movement Ϸ24 Mya.mitochondrial DNA ͉ phylogenetics ͉ homoplasy ͉ Tibetan Plateau T he Asiatic Salamanders, Hynobiidae, represent an early branch of the caudate lineage (1). All living species (Ϸ50, in seven to nine genera; http:͞͞amphibiaweb.org) occur in Asia. Hynobiids are closely related to the family Cryptobranchidae, with which they form the suborder Cryptobranchoidea. In comparison with other living salamanders, hynobiids are thought to resemble the most recent common ancestor of all salamanders because of three traits that are regarded as ancestral: external fertilization, an angular bone in the lower jaw, and large numbers of microchromosomes (1-3). Although usually thought to be monophyletic, the Hynobiidae also has been considered a paraphyletic stem group (4). Fossil hynobiids are known from the Late Miocene [Ϸ5 million years ago (Mya)] (5), whereas their relatives, cryptobranchids, can be traced back to the Jurassic (Ϸ160 Mya) (6). Remarkably, recent fossil findings of salamanders from the Early Cretaceous of North China show strong similarities with the Hynobiidae with respect to many skeletal features (7-9). This finding raises the questions of where and when hynobiids originated and what relationship there is between them and their fossil relatives. To answer these questions, a robust phylogenetic hypothesis of living hynobiids is required. Apart from a tentative phylogeny based on 23 morphological characters ( Fig. 1; ref. 10), and another based on an unpublished data...

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Feeding Specializations and the Classification of Terrestrial Salamanders

Cited by 63 publications

References 15 publications

Masters of change: seasonal plasticity in the prey-capture behavior of the Alpine newtIchthyosaura alpestris(Salamandridae)

Masters of change: seasonal plasticity in the prey-capture behavior of the Alpine newtIchthyosaura alpestris(Salamandridae)

A reinvestigation of phylogeny and divergence times of Hynobiidae (Amphibia, Caudata) based on 29 nuclear genes

Phylogeny, evolution, and biogeography of Asiatic Salamanders (Hynobiidae)

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