The anuran pelvic girdle is unique among all amphibians in that its acetabular portion is located far posterior to the sacrum, lateral to the postsacral (= caudal) vertebral column, which is reduced to a single rod-like element called the urostyle. This situation in the adult is strikingly different not only from that in ancestral temnospondyls but also in other modern amphibians. Because there is no fossil that would document this evolutionary anatomical modification except for Triadobatrachus, the only data may be inferred from development in modern anurans. We chose seven anuran species (belonging to the genera Discoglossus, Bombina, Pelobates, Bufo, Rana and Xenopus), representing the principal locomotory types (saltation, swimming, crawling and burrowing). Development of the pelvic girdle was studied on cleared and stained whole mounts and partly on serial histological sections. The basic developmental pattern was similar in all species: the pelvis on both sides develops from two centres (puboischiadic and iliac, respectively). The ilium then extends vertically towards the sacral vertebra and later rotates posteriorly so that ultimately the acetabulum is lateral to the tail (= urostyle). Only minor deviations from this pattern were found, mainly associated with differences in water and terrestrial dwelling.

Department of Zoology Faculty of Natural Sciences Charles University Prague Czech Republic

Zobrazit více v PubMed

Andrews SM, Westoll TS. The postcranial skeleton of Eusthenopteron foordi Whiteaves. Trans. R. Soc. Edinb. Earth Sci. 1970;68:207–329.

Blanco MJ, Sanchiz B. Evolutionary mechanisms of rib loss in anurans: a comparative developmental approach. J. Morph. 2000;244:57–67. PubMed

Bolt JR, Lombard RE. Palaeobiology of Whatcheeria deltae, a primitive Mississippian tetrapod. In: Heatwole H, Carroll E, editors. Amphibian Biology Vol. 4 Paleontology. Chipping Norton: Surrey Beatty & Sons; 2000. pp. 1044–1252.

Branham AE, List JC. Development of urostyle during metamorphosis in five species of Anura. J. Morph. 1979;159:311–330. PubMed

Cannatella DC. A phylogeny of primitive frogs (archaeobatrachians) Lawrence: The University of Kansas; 1985. Unpublished dissertation.

Carroll RL. Lepospondyls. In: Heatwole H, Carroll E, editors. Amphibian Biology Paleontology. Vol. 4. Chipping Norton: Surrey Beatty & Sons; 2000. pp. 1198–1273.

Coates MI. The Devonian tetrapod Acanthostega gunnari Jarvik: postcranial anatomy, basal tetrapod interrelationships and patterns of skeletal evolution. Trans. R. Soc. Edinb. Earth Sci. 1996;87:363–421.

De Villiers CGS. On the development of the ‘Epipubis’ of Xenopus. Ann. Transvaal Mus. 1925;11:129–150.

De Villiers CGS. On the morphology of the epipubis, the Nobelian bones and the phallic organ of Ascaphus truei Stejneger. Anat. Anz. 1934;78:23–47.

Dunlap D. The comparative myology of the pelvic appendage in the Salientia. J. Morph. 1960;106:1–76. PubMed

Eaton TH. The ancestry of the modern Amphibia. Univ. Kansas Publ. Mus. Nat. Hist. 1959;12:155–180.

Emerson SB. Burrowing in frogs. J. Morph. 1976;149:437–458. PubMed

Emerson SB. The ilio-sacral articulation in frogs: form and function. Biol. J. Linn. Soc. 1979;11:153–168.

Emerson SB, De Jongh HJ. Muscle activity at the ilio-sacral articulation of frogs. J. Morph. 1980;186:129–144. PubMed

Emerson SB. Frog postcranial morphology: identification of a functional complex. Copeia. 1982;1982:603–613.

Evans SE, Milner AR, Musset F. A discoglossid frog from the Middle Jurassic of England. Palaeontology. 1990;33:299–311.

Evans SE, Borsuk-Białynicka M. A stem-group frog from the Early Triassic of Poland. Acta Palaeontol. Pol. 1998;43:573–580.

Gadow H. The Evolution of the Vertebral Column. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press; 1933.

Gans C, Parsons TS. On the origin of the jumping mechanism in frogs. Evolution. 1966;20:92–99. PubMed

Gaupp E. Anatomie des Frosches. Abt. 1. Braunschweig: Vieweg u. Sohn; 1896.

Green TL. On the pelvis of the Anura: a study in adaptation and recapitulation. Proc. Zool. Soc. Lond. 1931;1931:1259–1289.

Griffiths I. Status of Protobatrachus massinoti. Nature. 1956;177:342–343.

Griffiths I. The phylogeny of the Salientia. Biol. Rev. 1963;38:241–292. PubMed

Hodler F. Untersuchungen über die Entwicklung von Sacralwirbel und Urostyl bei den Anuren. Ein Beitrag zur Deutung des anuren Amphibientypus. Rev. Suisse Zool. 1949;56:747–790.

Jarvik E. Basic Structure and Evolution of Vertebrates 1. London: Academic Press; 1980.

Jarvik E. The Devonian tetrapod Ichthyostega. Fossils Strata. 1996;40:1–213.

Jenkins FA, Jr, Shubin NH. Prosalirus bitis (Shubin and Jenkins 1995) and the anuran caudopelvic mechanism. J. Vertebr. Paleontol. 1998;18:495–510.

Lebedev OA, Coates MI. The postcranial skeleton of the Devonian tetrapod Tulerpeton curtum Lebedev. Zool. J. Linn. Soc. 1995;114:307–348.

Limeses CE. La musculatura del muslo en los Ceratofrínidos y formas afines. Contrib. cient. Univ. Buenos Aires, Series Zool. 1964;1:193–245.

MacBride EW. Some recent work on the development of the vertebral column. Biol. Rev. 1932;7:108–148.

Mahendra BC, Charan D. Homology and functional significance of the urostyle in Rana tigrina Daud. and Bufo andersonii Bouleng. Ann. Zool. 1972;8:51–60.

Mookerjee HK. On the development of the vertebral column of Anura. Phil. Trans. R. Soc. Lond. Series B, Biol. Sci. 1931;119:165–195.

Mookerjee HK, Das SK. Further investigations on the development of the vertebral column in Salientia (Anura) J. Morph. 1939;64:167–209.

Nevo E. Pipid frogs from the Early Cretaceous of Israel and pipid evolution. Bull. Mus. Comp. Zool. 1968;136:255–318.

Nieuwkoop PD, Faber J. Normal Table of Xenopus laevis (Daudin) Amsterdam: North-Holland Publishing Co; 1967.

Noble GK. Biology of the Amphibia. New York: McGraw-Hill Book Co; 1931.

Palmer M. Expanded ilio-sacral joint in the toad Xenopus laevis. Nature. 1960;187:797–780. PubMed

Rage J-C, Roček Z. Redescription of Triadobatrachus massinoti (Piveteau, 1936) an anuran amphibian from the early Triassic. Palaeontogr. A. 1989;206:1–16.

Reig OA. Los anuros del Matildense. Acta Geol. Lilloana. 1957;1:185–297.

Ridewood WG. On the development of the vertebral column in Pipa and Xenopus. Anat. Anz. 1897;13:359–376.

Ritland RM. Studies on the post-cranial morphology of Ascaphus truei. I. Skeleton and spinal nerves. J. Morph. 1955;97:119–177.

Roček Z, Rage J-C. Anatomical transformations in transition from temnospondyl to proanuran stages. In: Heatwole H, Carroll E, editors. Amphibian Biology–Paleontology. Vol. 4. Chipping Norton: Surrey Beatty & Sons; 2000. pp. 1276–1284.

Roček Z. Larval development in Oligocene palaeobatrachid frogs. Acta Palaeontol. Pol. 2003;48:595–607.

Romer AS. The appendicular skeleton of the Permian embolomerous amphibian Archeria. Contrib. Mus. Paleontol. Univ. Michigan. 1957;13:103–159.

Smit AL. The ontogenesis of the vertebral column of Xenopus laevis (Daudin) with special reference to the segmentation of the metotic region of the skull. Ann. Univ. Stellenbosch. 1953;29A:79–136.

Smithson T. Anthracosaurs. In: Heatwole H, Carroll E, editors. Amphibian Biology–Paleontology. Vol. 4. Chipping Norton: Surrey Beatty & Sons; 2000. pp. 1053–1063.

Špinar ZV. Fossil Frogs from Central Europe. Prague: Academia; 1972.

Stephenson EM. The vertebral column and appendicular skeleton of Leiopelma hochstetteri Fitzinger. Trans. R. Soc. N. Zeal. 1952;79:601–613.

Stephenson EM. The skeletal characters of Leiopelma hamiltoni McCulloch, with particular reference to the effects of heterochrony on the genus. Trans. R. Soc. N. Zeal. 1960;88:473–488.

Stephenson NG. Observations on the development of the amphicoelous frogs, Leiopelma and Ascaphus. J. Linn. Soc. Lond. (Zool) 1951;42:18–28.

Trueb L, Hanken J. Skeletal development in Xenopus laevis (Anura: Pipidae) J. Morph. 1992;214:1–41. PubMed

Van Dijk E. The ‘tail’ of Ascaphus. Ann. Univ. Stellenbosch, A. 1955;31:1–71.

Van Dijk E. On the cloacal region of Anura in particular of larval Ascaphus. Ann. Univ. Stellenbosch, A. 1959;35:169–249.

Van Dijk E. Segmentation of the pelvic region of Anura with particular reference to the urostyle of Ascaphus. S. Afr. J. Sci. 1960;56:78–80.

Van Dijk E. Longitudinal sliding articulations in pipid frogs. S. Afr. J. Sci. 2002;98:555–556.

Wassersug RJ. A procedure for differential staining of cartilage and bone in whole formalin-fixed vertebrates. Stain Technol. 1976;51:131–134. PubMed

Whiting HP. Pelvic girdle in amphibian locomotion. Symp. Zool. Soc. Lond. 1961;5:43–57.

Willem V. Observations sur les manouvres respiratoires chez. les anoures aglosses. Mém. Mus. Hist. Nat. Belg. Ser2. 1936;3:375–385.

Willem V. L’Articulation sacro-iliaque chez quelques amphibiens anoures. Trav. Station Zool. Wimereaux. 1938a;13:749–760.

Willem V. Nouvelles observations sur la respiration des anoures aglosses. Mém. Acad. R. Belg. (Sci) 1938b;17:3–22.

Pelvic and thigh musculature in frogs (Anura) and origin of anuran jumping locomotion