External gill motility and striated muscle presence in the embryos of anuran amphibians

Abstract

Anuran external gills were assessed for motility and striated muscle content in 16 species from seven families. Motility of three kinds was observed. Pulsatory movements related to heart beat rhythm were common. In embryos developing to a late stage before hatching, movements of the whole embryo were frequent, with gills rearranging as a consequence. The only clearly active movement, presumably muscle driven, was 'gill flicking', a posterior movement of the entire gill into the body either on one side only, or both together, followed by a return to the normal spread-out position. Some species may actively spread their gills when hanging from the water surface film, but we did not observe this. In some species, active gill movement developed over time, but we were not able to follow all species over such a developmental sequence. The relationship between active motility and muscle content was good in most cases. Observations on late stage embryos of the aromobatid Mannophryne trinitatis are presented for the first time. In one species, we noted spread external gills being used to adhere hatchlings to a surface.