凹耳蛙及无尾两栖动物发声系统形态学研究进展

Progress on the Sunken Ear Frog and Morphology of Sound Producing System in Anurans

两栖动物是最早应用声讯进行雌雄识别、繁殖和防御的脊椎动物,其发声器官包括喉部器官和(或)声囊。近来的研究表明我国特有两栖动物——凹耳蛙不仅具有非常复杂的鸣叫特点,而且能发出超声音频。本文总结了有关凹耳蛙的生物学特点、无尾两栖动物发声器官的研究进展,指出凹耳蛙在无尾两栖动物发声器官的生态和进化形态学研究中的重要地位。

Amphibians are among the first vertebrates to use sound communication in reproduction, defence and male-female identification. The sound production apparatus consists of the larynx and/or its vocal sacs. Recent studies showed that the Chinese frog Rana tormotus, which is endemic to China, produces countless and high-pitched vocalizations, some of which share features of birdsong. It is a phenomenon of adaption to torrent in the noisy setting of their natural habitats. In this review, we sumnlarize the research being done on the Rana tormotus sound producing apparatus and suggest that this frog could be used as a model for sound production studies. And pointed out its important position in the discovery of the structures of sound producing apparatus from eco-morphology, evo-morphology and ontogeny in different taxa of frogs and toads.