[Experimental demonstration of the annual characteristic of the lines of arrest of skeletal growth in Rana esculenta (Amphibia, anura)].

Different vital fluorescent labelling (tetracycline, calcein, xylenol orange, alizarine red S) have been injected in a series of young growing green frogs, caught near Paris and kept for 2 years in captivity under conditions quite similar to natural ones. The study of femur and phalanx has been carried out by ground sections observed in UV light and then colored with hematoxyline. The comparison between UV and transmitted light observations shows that the arrested growth lines are annual, laid during winter and never completely destroyed by bone remodelling. Then, they constitute a valuable criterion to assess the age of the individual.