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Unearthing The Fossorial Tadpoles Of The Indian Dancing Frog Family Micrixalidae, Gayani Senevirathne, Sonali Garg, Ryan R. Kerney, Madhava Meegaskumbura, S. D. Biju

Biology Faculty Publications

Tadpoles of the monotypic Indian dancing frog family Micrixalidae have remained obscure for over 125 years. Here we report the discovery of the elusive tadpoles of Micrixalus herrei from the sand beds of a forested stream in southern Western Ghats, and confirm their identity through DNA barcoding. These actively burrowing tadpoles lead an entirely fossorial life from eggs to late metamorphic stages. We describe their internal and external morphological characters while highlighting the following features: eel-like appearance, extensively muscularized body and tail, reduced tail fins, skin-covered eyes, delayed development of eye pigmentation in early pre-metamorphic stages (Gosner stages 25–29), prominent …