Pouch brooding marsupial frogs transfer nutrients to developing embryos.
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ABSTRACT:
SUBMITTER: Warne RW
PROVIDER: S-EPMC5095203 | biostudies-literature | 2016 Oct
REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature
Publications
Pouch brooding marsupial frogs transfer nutrients to developing embryos.
Warne Robin W RW Catenazzi Alessandro A
Biology letters 20161001 10
Marsupial frogs have a unique reproductive mode in which females carry eggs enclosed in a sealed dorsal brood pouch. While most anurans are considered to be oviparous with lecithotrophic eggs, the extensively vascularized membrane of the brood pouch in marsupial frogs suggests potential opportunities for nutrient transfer. We tested for matrotrophy in the live-bearing Gastrotheca excubitor (Hemiphractidae), through feeding insects labelled with a <sup>13</sup>C-fatty acid and a <sup>15</sup>N-am ...[more]
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