Uncovering Sexual Differences in the External Morphology, Appendicular Muscles, and Internal Organs of a Fossorial Narrow-Mouth Frog (<i>Kaloula borealis</i>)
Sexual dimorphism is prevalent among animals, influencing both functional morphological traits and behavioral performances. In this study, we investigated the sexual differences in the morphological parameters of <i>Kaloula borealis</i> (Anura, Microhylidae) during the breeding season us...
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MDPI AG
2025-07-01
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| author | Xiuping Wang Meihua Zhang Wenyi Zhang Jianping Jiang Bingjun Dong |
| author_facet | Xiuping Wang Meihua Zhang Wenyi Zhang Jianping Jiang Bingjun Dong |
| author_sort | Xiuping Wang |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Sexual dimorphism is prevalent among animals, influencing both functional morphological traits and behavioral performances. In this study, we investigated the sexual differences in the morphological parameters of <i>Kaloula borealis</i> (Anura, Microhylidae) during the breeding season using 48 specimens. Our results reveal that among the 16 external morphological traits, females had significantly larger snout-vent length and eye diameter than males. The former presumably contributes to enhancing fertility, while the latter is associated with larger body size. Males exhibited significantly greater head width and thigh width than females, which may be related to accessing a wider range of food sources and enhancing their locomotor ability, respectively. Among the 32 appendicular muscles, 10 displayed significant sexual dimorphism in dry mass, suggesting divergent reproductive strategies between the sexes. Among the eight internal organs analyzed, males possessed significantly heavier hearts and lungs than females, which is likely an adaptation to higher metabolic demands and calling behavior. Collectively, our findings demonstrate that sex-specific differences in external morphology, muscle mass, and internal organ mass reflect distinct ecological and reproductive adaptations between males and females and contribute to the phenotypic diversities in Anura. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-d8f473c242ed4eee8bdb8beefdb4ec63 |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 2076-2615 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-07-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
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| series | Animals |
| spelling | doaj-art-d8f473c242ed4eee8bdb8beefdb4ec632025-08-20T03:36:15ZengMDPI AGAnimals2076-26152025-07-011514211810.3390/ani15142118Uncovering Sexual Differences in the External Morphology, Appendicular Muscles, and Internal Organs of a Fossorial Narrow-Mouth Frog (<i>Kaloula borealis</i>)Xiuping Wang0Meihua Zhang1Wenyi Zhang2Jianping Jiang3Bingjun Dong4College of Life Sciences, Shenyang Normal University, Shenyang 110034, ChinaChengdu Institute of Biology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Chengdu 610213, ChinaCollege of Life Sciences, Shenyang Normal University, Shenyang 110034, ChinaChengdu Institute of Biology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Chengdu 610213, ChinaCollege of Life Sciences, Shenyang Normal University, Shenyang 110034, ChinaSexual dimorphism is prevalent among animals, influencing both functional morphological traits and behavioral performances. In this study, we investigated the sexual differences in the morphological parameters of <i>Kaloula borealis</i> (Anura, Microhylidae) during the breeding season using 48 specimens. Our results reveal that among the 16 external morphological traits, females had significantly larger snout-vent length and eye diameter than males. The former presumably contributes to enhancing fertility, while the latter is associated with larger body size. Males exhibited significantly greater head width and thigh width than females, which may be related to accessing a wider range of food sources and enhancing their locomotor ability, respectively. Among the 32 appendicular muscles, 10 displayed significant sexual dimorphism in dry mass, suggesting divergent reproductive strategies between the sexes. Among the eight internal organs analyzed, males possessed significantly heavier hearts and lungs than females, which is likely an adaptation to higher metabolic demands and calling behavior. Collectively, our findings demonstrate that sex-specific differences in external morphology, muscle mass, and internal organ mass reflect distinct ecological and reproductive adaptations between males and females and contribute to the phenotypic diversities in Anura.https://www.mdpi.com/2076-2615/15/14/2118sexual dimorphismfunctional morphology3D reconstructiontissue massadaptations |
| spellingShingle | Xiuping Wang Meihua Zhang Wenyi Zhang Jianping Jiang Bingjun Dong Uncovering Sexual Differences in the External Morphology, Appendicular Muscles, and Internal Organs of a Fossorial Narrow-Mouth Frog (<i>Kaloula borealis</i>) Animals sexual dimorphism functional morphology 3D reconstruction tissue mass adaptations |
| title | Uncovering Sexual Differences in the External Morphology, Appendicular Muscles, and Internal Organs of a Fossorial Narrow-Mouth Frog (<i>Kaloula borealis</i>) |
| title_full | Uncovering Sexual Differences in the External Morphology, Appendicular Muscles, and Internal Organs of a Fossorial Narrow-Mouth Frog (<i>Kaloula borealis</i>) |
| title_fullStr | Uncovering Sexual Differences in the External Morphology, Appendicular Muscles, and Internal Organs of a Fossorial Narrow-Mouth Frog (<i>Kaloula borealis</i>) |
| title_full_unstemmed | Uncovering Sexual Differences in the External Morphology, Appendicular Muscles, and Internal Organs of a Fossorial Narrow-Mouth Frog (<i>Kaloula borealis</i>) |
| title_short | Uncovering Sexual Differences in the External Morphology, Appendicular Muscles, and Internal Organs of a Fossorial Narrow-Mouth Frog (<i>Kaloula borealis</i>) |
| title_sort | uncovering sexual differences in the external morphology appendicular muscles and internal organs of a fossorial narrow mouth frog i kaloula borealis i |
| topic | sexual dimorphism functional morphology 3D reconstruction tissue mass adaptations |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2076-2615/15/14/2118 |
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