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
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- ↑ [1] Archived September 17, 2008 at the Wayback Machine
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