Habitat

1. Habitat • Tropical lowlands • Frequently found on wet leaves • Plants that have waxy leaves

2. Arboreal- “wood or tree climbing salamanders characterized by palmate, fully webbed feet.” • Arboreality is rare among salamanders • feet are seen as adhesive structures enabling the salamanders to climb smooth surfaces

3. Adaptation • Adaption of arboreal found to be used for increasing the sticky ability of the animals to the wet and waxy leaves that constitute the habitats of these organisms • Occurs by means of suction

4. Paedomorphosis • The feet of the arboreal salamander results from Paedomorphis: retention by an organism of juvenile into later life… • In this case it appears that the salamander has maintained its foot to stay in embryonic form

5. Paedomophosis • Leads to a decrease in digits, thus a decrease in the elaboration of the epidermis • The epidermis stays smooth

6. Webbed feet

7. cntd.’ • Webbed feet lead to reduced digits • The outer epidermis is poorly organized squamous epithelium yet very smooth • Glands are abundant, specifically mucous glands (sm. cuboidal cells) • The density of mucous pores increase dramatically in webbed feet

8. … • Feet are concave making a suction cup • Reduction of cell surface sculpturing… a characteristic of a morphological change

9. Waxy and wet leaves

10. Conclusion • Adaptations of the salamander: • Smooth epithelium instead of rough • Reduction of surface sculptures • Increased number of mucosal glands • Loss of digits.. to increase surface area

11. Skin Morphology in Neotropical Salamanders