Nuptial pad
A nuptial pad (also known as thumb pad, or nuptial excrescence[1]) is a secondary sex characteristic present on some mature male frogs and salamanders.[2][3][4][5] Triggered by androgen hormones, this breeding gland (a type of mucus gland) appears as a spiked epithelial swelling on the forearm and prepollex that aids with grip, used primarily by males to grasp (or clasp) females during amplexus.[6] They can also be used in male-male combat in some species.[6]
Historical background
Austrian biologist Paul Kammerer experimented on midwife toads' nuptial pads.[7] He used the offsprings' apparent enlargening from generation-to-generation as evidence of Lamarckian evolution.[8]
Examples
Many amphibian species manifest nuptial pads for use in amplexus, an example being the rough-skinned newt, Taricha granulosa.[9]
See also
References
- ^ William E. Duellman; et al. (1994). Biology of Amphibians. JHU Press. p. 55. ISBN 978-0801847806.
- ^ "Science & Nature - Wildfacts - Common frog, grass frog". BBC. 2008-07-25. Retrieved 2011-07-14.
- ^ "Mertensiella caucasica". AmphibiaWeb. 1999-10-03. Retrieved 2011-07-14.
- ^ "Ommatotriton ophryticus". AmphibiaWeb. 2005-10-26. Retrieved 2011-07-14.
- ^ "Pleurodeles waltl". AmphibiaWeb. 2002-05-25. Retrieved 2011-07-14.
- ^ a b Herpetology (3rd ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson/Prentice Hall. 2004. pp. 67–68. ISBN 0-13-100849-8.
{{cite book}}: Unknown parameter|authors=ignored (help) - ^ Koestler, Arthur (1971). The Case of the Midwife Toad. Random House.
- ^ [1] Archived 2008-09-17 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ C. Michael Hogan (2008). "Rough-skinned Newt (Taricha granulosa)". Globaltwitcher, ed. Nicklas Stromberg.
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