Limb malformation in an Asian Common Toad, Duttaphrynus melanostictus (Schneider 1799) (Anura: Bufonidae), from Hong Kong

Yeung, Ho Yuen; Yang, Jian-Huan

doi:10.17161/randa.v28i3.15741

Cited by 2 publications

(1 citation statement)

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“…The Asian common toad ( Duttaphrynus melanostictus ) is widely distributed in southern and southeastern Asia, occupying various habitats including forests, grasslands, cultivated lands and parks. This species grows and reproduces in various sites, including marshes, temporary ponds, puddles, and man-made ponds [ 34 ], rendering it an ideal candidate for studying the evolution of organ size and understanding adaptation to different environmental conditions and habitats. Therefore, in this study, we investigated patterns of geographic variation in the organ sizes of D. melanostictus among five populations.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Geographic Variation in Organ Size in a Toad (Duttaphrynus melanostictus)

Deng

Jin

QIU

et al. 2023

Animals

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Adaptive evolution is the process by which organisms change their morphological, physiological and biochemical characteristics to adapt to different environments during long-term natural selection. Especially, researching variation in organ size can provide important insights into morphological adaptation in amphibians. In this study, we comparatively studied differences in organ sizes (heart, lungs, liver, gallbladder, kidneys, spleen, digestive tract, testes and brain) among five geographical populations of the Asian common toad Duttaphrynus melanostictus. Our results revealed significant variations in the size of these nine specific organs among the populations. Notably, we observed a significant positive correlation between the relative size of the testes and latitude and/or altitude. However, no correlation was found between the relative size of the heart and the length of the digestive tract with altitude across populations, respectively, contradicting Hesse’s rule and the digestion theory. These findings suggest that our study does not provide substantial theoretical support for the adaptive evolution of organ size in this particular toad species, but rather contributes to the understanding of the evolution and adaptations of species’ different environmental conditions. Further research is warranted to delve deeper into the factors influencing organ size in amphibian populations.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%