Invasive toads shift behavioral traits to find water

Water-finding and water-maintenance behaviors in Guttural Toads, Sclerophrys gutturalis, from their native population in Durban and an invasive population in Cape Town

Diversity and evolution of sexually dimorphic mental and lateral glands in Cophomantini treefrogs (Anura: Hylidae: Hylinae)

We describe the structure and histochemistry of mental and lateral glands in a representative array of 28 species of five genera of the Neotropical hylid frog tribe Cophomantini. Structural diversity was coded in 15 characters that were optimized on the most recent phylogenetic hypothesis. Mental and lateral glands occur in 17 species and 10 species, respectively, whereas nine species have both. Each glandular concentration may have two types of sexually dimorphic skin glands (SDSGs), specialized mucous and specialized serous glands, which occur independently or may co-occur. Distinctive characteristics related to these glands are shape, aspect of the secretion, disposition, and distribution. The occurrences of mental and lateral glands, and the characters derived from macroscopic and microscopic examinations, have an intricate taxonomic distribution, with differing levels of homoplasy. The function of SDSGs in Cophomantini is currently unknown. However, based on structural and histochemical similarities to SDSGs from other species of amphibians where experimental evidence exists, we infer they might be involved in the secretion of chemical signals during courtship behaviour. The distribution pattern of these glands, along with the existence of different signals (i.e. acoustic, visual, tactile), suggests the presence of multimodal signalling for some species of the tribe.Fil: Brunetti, Andrés Eduardo. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Parque Centenario. Museo Argentino de Ciencias Naturales "Bernardino Rivadavia"; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Ciudad Universitaria. Unidad de Microanálisis y Métodos Físicos en Química Orgánica. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales. Unidad de Microanálisis y Métodos Físicos en Química Orgánica; ArgentinaFil: Hermida, Gladys Noemí. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales. Departamento de Biodiversidad y Biología Experimental; ArgentinaFil: Luna, María Celeste. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Parque Centenario. Museo Argentino de Ciencias Naturales "Bernardino Rivadavia"; ArgentinaFil: Barsotti, Adriana M. G.. Universidade de Sao Paulo; BrasilFil: Jared, Carlos. Governo Do Estado de Sao Paulo. Secretaria Da Saude. Instituto Butantan; BrasilFil: Antoniazzi, Marta Maria. Governo Do Estado de Sao Paulo. Secretaria Da Saude. Instituto Butantan; BrasilFil: Rivera Correa, Mauricio. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Parque Centenario. Museo Argentino de Ciencias Naturales "Bernardino Rivadavia"; Argentina. Universidad de Antioquia; ColombiaFil: Berneck, Bianca V. M.. Universidade Estadual Paulista Julio de Mesquita Filho; BrasilFil: Faivovich, Julián. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Parque Centenario. Museo Argentino de Ciencias Naturales "Bernardino Rivadavia"; Argentin