A lungless frog discovered on Borneo

The evolution of lunglessness in tetrapods (amphibians, reptiles, birds, and mammals) is an exceedingly rare event. So far lunglessness is known to occur only in amphibians, in particular two families of salamanders and a single species of caecilian. Here, we report the first case of complete lungle...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inCurrent biology Vol. 18; no. 9; p. R374
Main Authors Bickford, David, Iskandar, Djoko, Barlian, Anggraini
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published England 06.05.2008
Subjects
Amphibia
Animals
Anura
Anura - anatomy & histology
Anura - physiology
Barbourula
Biological Evolution
Borneo
Caudata
Conservation of Natural Resources
Ecosystem
Lung
Borneo
Borneo, Kalimantan
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Summary:The evolution of lunglessness in tetrapods (amphibians, reptiles, birds, and mammals) is an exceedingly rare event. So far lunglessness is known to occur only in amphibians, in particular two families of salamanders and a single species of caecilian. Here, we report the first case of complete lunglessness in a frog, Barbourula kalimantanensis, from the Indonesian portion of Borneo. Previously only known from two specimens, a recent expedition to central Kalimantan on Borneo rediscovered two new populations of this enigmatic aquatic frog. This allowed for a more comprehensive assessment of the species' ecology and anatomy that led to the discovery of its lack of lungs. Loss of lungs in Amphibia is most likely due to their evolutionary history at the interface between aquatic and terrestrial habitats and their ancient ability to respire through the skin.
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ISSN:0960-9822
DOI:10.1016/j.cub.2008.03.010