División Limnología, Museo Argentino de Ciencias Naturales 'Bernardino Rivadavia' (CONICET), Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires, Argentina.
División Paleontología Vertebrados, Museo de La Plata (Unidad de Investigación Anexo II), Facultad de Ciencias Naturales y Museo (CONICET), La Plata, Buenos Aires, Argentina.
J Morphol. 2023 Nov;284(11):e21649. doi: 10.1002/jmor.21649.
Anuran skin is a dynamic organ involved in essential functions that strongly correlate with specific morphological traits. Particularly, gas exchange has been associated with epidermal modifications, such as reduced cell layers and increased vascularization. Here, we describe the epidermal morphology and its association with capillary networks in the dorsal skin of 103 Neotropical anurans (Nobleobatrachia) from different ecomorphs and habitats. Additionally, we examined the lateral and ventral skin for a subset of these species. We report intraepidermal capillaries in (i) dorsal skin of Lepidobatrachus laevis and Lepidobatrachus llanensis (burrowing and semi-aquatic Chacoan species), Hyloscirtus colymba and Hyloscirtus palmeri (arboreal species from humid forests), and Alsodes neuquensis and 15 Telmatobius spp. (aquatic and semi-aquatic species from cold environments); (ii) lateral skin of Boana benitezi and H. colymba (arboreal species from humid forests), and (iii) ventral skin of B. benitezi, H. colymba, Atelognathus patagonicus (aquatic species from cold environments), and four Chacoan species, Chacophrys pierottii, Ceratophrys cranwelli (burrowing/terrestrial species), and Lepidobatrachus asper and L. llanensis (burrowing/semi-aquatic species). Also, verrucae hydrophilicae were observed exclusively in the ventral skin of Leptodactylus fuscus, Leptodactylus laticeps (terrestrial and Chacoan species), and B. benitezi. Regardless of the skin region, the capillaries always penetrate the epidermis from the dermis, while epidermal cell layers are flattened. Our findings support previous hypotheses stating that the environment where species occur influences skin changes related to cutaneous respiration (intraepidermal capillaries in different body regions) and water absorption (intraepidermal capillaries associated with verrucae hydrophilicae within ventral skin). Also, phylogeny might influence the development of these structures, as revealed by the presence of intraepidermal capillaries in almost all analyzed species of Telmatobius. Finally, the co-occurrence of verrucae hydrophilicae in the ventral skin of hylids from humid forests, and leptodactylids from the subhumid Chacoan region suggest an independent origin.
蛙类皮肤是一种参与重要功能的动态器官，与特定的形态特征密切相关。特别是，气体交换与表皮的变化有关，如减少细胞层和增加血管化。在这里，我们描述了来自不同生态型和栖息地的 103 种新热带蛙类（Nobleobatrachia）背部皮肤的表皮形态及其与毛细血管网络的关系。此外，我们还检查了这些物种的一部分的侧部和腹部皮肤。我们报告了在以下物种的（i）背部皮肤中存在表皮内毛细血管：Lepidobatrachus laevis 和 Lepidobatrachus llanensis（穴居和半水生查科物种）、Hyloscirtus colymba 和 Hyloscirtus palmeri（来自潮湿森林的树栖物种），以及 Alsodes neuquensis 和 15 种 Telmatobius spp.（来自寒冷环境的水生和半水生物种）；（ii）侧部皮肤的 Boana benitezi 和 H. colymba（来自潮湿森林的树栖物种），以及（iii）腹部皮肤的 B. benitezi、H. colymba、Atelognathus patagonicus（来自寒冷环境的水生物种）和四种查科物种，Chacophrys pierottii、Ceratophrys cranwelli（穴居/陆生物种），以及 Lepidobatrachus asper 和 L. llanensis（穴居/半水生物种）。此外，只在 Leptodactylus fuscus、Leptodactylus laticeps（陆生和查科物种）和 B. benitezi 的腹部皮肤中观察到水孔状表皮。无论皮肤区域如何，毛细血管总是从真皮穿透表皮，而表皮细胞层被压平。我们的发现支持了先前的假说，即物种出现的环境会影响与皮肤呼吸（不同身体区域的表皮内毛细血管）和水吸收（与腹部皮肤中的水孔状表皮相关的表皮内毛细血管）有关的皮肤变化。此外，系统发育也可能影响这些结构的发育，这从 Telmatobius 中几乎所有分析物种都存在表皮内毛细血管中得到了证实。最后，在来自潮湿森林的树栖的 hylids 和来自亚湿润查科地区的 leptodactylids 的腹部皮肤中共同存在水孔状表皮表明它们具有独立的起源。
