The only lungless frog in the world has been exposed as a fake , in fact being the secret owner of a diminutive span of lungs and glottis – respiratory electric organ that had previously been declared as absent in the rare Bornean straight - headed frog . New inquiry looked at museum specimens using a gamy - resolution micro - CT scanner and distinguish that the previous conclusion that they were lungless frog was , in fact , faulty .
Lungless tetrapod – that is , animals on four legs like amphibian , reptiles , and mammalian – are comparatively rare , but include onecaecilianand numeroussalamanders . alternatively of breathing with lungs they breathe through nonpulmonary tissues , like the skin and mucus membrane in their mouth and throats .
The Bornean flat - headed frog , Barbourula kalimantanensis , was believed to be a part of the lungless crew . live in cold , oxygen - full-bodied water supply , scientists figured that it must be getting its full O quota through its skin .
That was until a squad of scientists embark on a large - scale task to use micro CT read to look at the interior anatomy of various vertebrates . Using two specimens that had been polar in the initial “ discovery ” that Bornean flat - head frogs were lungless , they realized that there was in fact a bantam solidifying of lungs tucked inside their bodies .
“ As in other frogs , the pulmonary setup ofB. kalimantanensiscontains a glottis that is site posterior to the tongue on the floor of the buccal cavity and just dorsal to the hyoid scale , ” write the written report generator . “ The glottis is also visible in preserved specimen , and may have been overlooked because of the sheep pen of the buccal floor . The comportment of the laryngeal dilator muscles , which open up the glottis during breathing in other frogs , suggests a typical functional respiratory system inB. kalimantanensis . ”
That the lungs are so minute suggests that Bornean matte - headed frogs in all likelihood do also rely on tegument ventilation , but plain , planet Earth is no longer a place that can take to be home to a lungless frog . Having such belittled lung may benefit these animals in making them less buoyant , as getting swept off in currents is a considerable terror in fast flowing waters . It may also influence how their vocalizations transfer in the water , as has been envision among other aquatic toad .
The source sign off their study expressing that we have the sharing of biological specimen from innate history appeal to thank for the discovery , as without these , they ’d never have been able to dive into the anatomy of the “ world ’s only lungless frog ” . Now , who fancies a trip to the museum ?
The study is publish inCurrent Biology .
