Contribution of the submentalis muscle to feeding mechanics in the leopard frog,Rana pipiens

XROMM Analysis of Feeding Mechanics in Toads: Interactions of the Tongue, Hyoid, and Pectoral Girdle

During feeding in many terrestrial vertebrates, the tongue acts in concert with the hyoid and pectoral girdle. In frogs, these three elements are interconnected by musculature. While the feeding mechanics of the anuran tongue are well-studied, little is known of how the motions of the tongue relate to the movements of the skeleton or how buccal structures move following closure of the mouth. Although features such as the pectoral girdle and hyoid are not externally visible in frogs, their motions can be tracked in X-ray video. We used XROMM (X-ray Reconstruction of Moving Morphology) techniques to track the 3D movements of the tongue, hyoid apparatus, pectoral girdle, skull, and jaw during the feeding cycle of the cane toad, Rhinella marina . We show how the movements of these elements are integrated during tongue protrusion and prey capture, as well as during prey transport, swallowing, and recovery. Our findings suggest that the hyoid apparatus is important both for prey manipulation and swallowing. The tongue consistently stretches posterior to the skull during swallowing, often more than it stretches during protrusion to reach the prey. Feeding kinematics are similar between individuals, and the kinematics of unsuccessful strikes generally resemble those of successful strikes. Our data also provide a new perspective on the potential role of the pectoral girdle, an element with a predominant locomotor function, during feeding events. This work raises new questions about the evolution of feeding in frogs, as well as how the diversity of pectoral and buccal anatomy observed across anurans may influence feeding kinematics.

Evolution of the strikingly diverse submandibular muscles in Anura

The most ventral muscles of the head (the mm. submentalis, intermandibularis, and interhyoideus) provide support to the gular region and lift the buccal floor during ventilation and feeding. These muscles show limited variation in most gnathostomes, but in Anura they exhibit a surprising diversity. The few studies that have explored this character system highlighted its potential as a source of phylogenetic information. In this paper we explored the diversity of this character system studying specimens of 567 anuran species and reviewing published data to cover a total of 1321 species, belonging to 53 of the 54 currently recognized anuran families, as well as caudates and caecilians. We defined 27 discrete characters including the number of muscle bellies, supplementary layers, hypertrophy and diversity of elastic fibres, and pigmentation, among others, and optimized them on a comprehensive phylogenetic hypothesis. We recognized 223 unambiguously optimized synapomorphies for numerous clades on different scales, including three for Anura and many for suprafamiliar clades with poor phenotypic support. Finally, we discussed the evolution of this highly diverse character system, including homology, development, and its functional role in vocalization and feeding. Interestingly, the striking levels of variation in some structures contrast with the amount of phylogenetic inertia, allowing us to recognize several general patterns. Supplementary elements of the m. intermandibularis evolved first as broad layers occuring in more than half of extant anuran species and then concentrated forming discreet bellies in several clades. The anterior portion of the gular region is not sexually dimorphic, and is likely related to ventilation and tongue protraction. Conversely, the diversity of the m. interhyoideus is strongly linked to vocal sacs, which are present only in adult males, suggesting the presence of two independent modules.

Shooting Mechanisms in Nature: A Systematic Review

BACKGROUND

In nature, shooting mechanisms are used for a variety of purposes, including prey capture, defense, and reproduction. This review offers insight into the working principles of shooting mechanisms in fungi, plants, and animals in the light of the specific functional demands that these mechanisms fulfill.

METHODS

We systematically searched the literature using Scopus and Web of Knowledge to retrieve articles about solid projectiles that either are produced in the body of the organism or belong to the body and undergo a ballistic phase. The shooting mechanisms were categorized based on the energy management prior to and during shooting.

RESULTS

Shooting mechanisms were identified with projectile masses ranging from 1·10-9 mg in spores of the fungal phyla Ascomycota and Zygomycota to approximately 10,300 mg for the ballistic tongue of the toad Bufo alvarius. The energy for shooting is generated through osmosis in fungi, plants, and animals or muscle contraction in animals. Osmosis can be induced by water condensation on the system (in fungi), or water absorption in the system (reaching critical pressures up to 15.4 atmospheres; observed in fungi, plants, and animals), or water evaporation from the system (reaching up to -197 atmospheres; observed in plants and fungi). The generated energy is stored as elastic (potential) energy in cell walls in fungi and plants and in elastic structures in animals, with two exceptions: (1) in the momentum catapult of Basidiomycota the energy is stored in a stalk (hilum) by compression of the spore and droplets and (2) in Sphagnum energy is mainly stored in compressed air. Finally, the stored energy is transformed into kinetic energy of the projectile using a catapult mechanism delivering up to 4,137 J/kg in the osmotic shooting mechanism in cnidarians and 1,269 J/kg in the muscle-powered appendage strike of the mantis shrimp Odontodactylus scyllarus. The launch accelerations range from 6.6g in the frog Rana pipiens to 5,413,000g in cnidarians, the launch velocities from 0.1 m/s in the fungal phylum Basidiomycota to 237 m/s in the mulberry Morus alba, and the launch distances from a few thousands of a millimeter in Basidiomycota to 60 m in the rainforest tree Tetraberlinia moreliana. The mass-specific power outputs range from 0.28 W/kg in the water evaporation mechanism in Basidiomycota to 1.97·109 W/kg in cnidarians using water absorption as energy source.

DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS

The magnitude of accelerations involved in shooting is generally scale-dependent with the smaller the systems, discharging the microscale projectiles, generating the highest accelerations. The mass-specific power output is also scale dependent, with smaller mechanisms being able to release the energy for shooting faster than larger mechanisms, whereas the mass-specific work delivered by the shooting mechanism is mostly independent of the scale of the shooting mechanism. Higher mass-specific work-values are observed in osmosis-powered shooting mechanisms (≤ 4,137 J/kg) when compared to muscle-powered mechanisms (≤ 1,269 J/kg). The achieved launch parameters acceleration, velocity, and distance, as well as the associated delivered power output and work, thus depend on the working principle and scale of the shooting mechanism.

Independent Evolution of Suction Feeding in Neobatrachia: Feeding Mechanisms in Two Species of Telmatobius (Anura:Telmatobiidae)

The most common feeding mechanism among aquatic vertebrates as fishes, turtles, and salamanders is inertial suction. However, among the more than 6,400 species of anurans, suction feeding occurs only in pipids. Pipidae is a small basal lineage relative to Neobatrachia, an enormous clade that contains about 96% of extant anurans. The Andean neobatrachian frogs of the genus Telmatobius include strictly aquatic and semiaquatic species. Diet analyses indicate that some species of Telmatobius feed on strictly aquatic prey, but until now their feeding mechanisms have been unknown. Herein, the feeding mechanisms in two species of Telmatobius, that represent the two predominant modes of life in the genus, are explored. The semiaquatic T. oxycephalus and the fully aquatic T. rubigo are studied using high-speed cinematography and standard anatomical techniques to provide a qualitative approach to feeding behavior and a detailed morphological description of the mouth, tongue, hyoid and related muscles. T. oxycephalus uses similar mechanisms of aquatic prey capture as do the vast majority of anurans that are capable of forage in water, whereas the fully aquatic T. rubigo is an inertial suction feeder. This is the first report of an objective record of this unique feeding behavior in a Neobatrachian. Several morphological characters seem to be related with this function and are convergent with those of pipids.

Neural circuits underlying tongue movements for the prey-catching behavior in frog: distribution of primary afferent terminals on motoneurons supplying the tongue

The hypoglossal motor nucleus is one of the efferent components of the neural network underlying the tongue prehension behavior of Ranid frogs. Although the appropriate pattern of the motor activity is determined by motor pattern generators, sensory inputs can modify the ongoing motor execution. Combination of fluorescent tracers were applied to investigate whether there are direct contacts between the afferent fibers of the trigeminal, facial, vestibular, glossopharyngeal-vagal, hypoglossal, second cervical spinal nerves and the hypoglossal motoneurons. Using confocal laser scanning microscope, we detected different number of close contacts from various sensory fibers, which were distributed unequally between the motoneurons innervating the protractor, retractor and inner muscles of the tongue. Based on the highest number of contacts and their closest location to the perikaryon, the glossopharyngeal-vagal nerves can exert the strongest effect on hypoglossal motoneurons and in agreement with earlier physiological results, they influence the protraction of the tongue. The second largest number of close appositions was provided by the hypoglossal and second cervical spinal afferents and they were located mostly on the proximal and middle parts of the dendrites of retractor motoneurons. Due to their small number and distal location, the trigeminal and vestibular terminals seem to have minor effects on direct activation of the hypoglossal motoneurons. We concluded that direct contacts between primary afferent terminals and hypoglossal motoneurons provide one of the possible morphological substrates of very quick feedback and feedforward modulation of the motor program during various stages of prey-catching behavior.

Termination of trigeminal primary afferents on glossopharyngeal-vagal motoneurons: possible neural networks underlying the swallowing phase and visceromotor responses of prey-catching behavior

Prey-catching behavior (PCB) of the frog consists of a sequence of coordinated activity of muscles which is modified by various sensory signals. The aim of the present study was, for the first time, to examine the involvement of the trigeminal afferents in the swallowing phase of PCB. Experiments were performed on Rana esculenta, where the trigeminal and glossopharyngeal (IX)-vagus (X) nerves were labeled simultaneously with different fluorescent dyes. Using confocal laser scanning microscope, close appositions were detected between the trigeminal afferent fibers and somatodendritic components of the IX-X motoneurons of the ambiguus nucleus (NA). Neurolucida reconstruction revealed spatial distribution of the trigeminal afferents in the functionally different parts of the NA. Thus, the visceromotor neurons supplying the stomach, the heart and the lung received about two third of the trigeminal contacts followed by the pharyngomotor and then by the laryngomotor neurons. On the other hand, individual motoneurons responsible for innervation of the viscera received less trigeminal terminals than the neurons supplying the muscles of the pharynx. The results suggest that the direct contacts between the trigeminal afferents and IX-X motoneurons presented here may be one of the morphological substrate of a very quick response during the swallowing phase of PCB. Combination of direct and indirect trigeminal inputs may contribute to optimize the ongoing motor execution.

Anatomical organization of brainstem circuits mediating feeding motor programs in the marine toad, Bufo marinus

The goal of our research has been to investigate the neuronal integration that coordinates feeding movements in the marine toad (genus Bufo). Using injections of fluorescein dextran amines, combined with activity-dependent uptake of sulforhodamine 101, peripheral hypoglossal and trigeminal nerves involved with tongue and jaw movements were labeled. We identified the rostrocaudal distribution of hypoglossal and trigeminal motor nuclei, and their sensory projections. We also identified the extent of neuronal networks for the medial reticular formation, the raphe nucleus, the glossopharyngeal nuclei, and the Purkinje cell layer of the cerebellum. The sensory fibers of the hypoglossal and trigeminal nerves were found projecting to the Purkinje cell layer of the cerebellum and the trigeminal motor nuclei. The activity-dependent sulforhodamine 101 uptake after the trigeminal and hypoglossal nerves stimulation labeled the bilateral hypoglossal motor nuclei, the trigeminal motor nuclei, the medial reticular formation nuclei, the raphe nuclei, the glossopharyngeal nuclei, and the Purkinje cell layer of the cerebellum, suggesting that all these neurons have the potential to be the components of feeding pathways. Taken together, these data are important for understanding the neuronal integration of extremely rapid jaw-tongue coordination during feeding in the marine toad.