This ‘walking morphotype’ is described as having a dorsoventrally flattened sacrum with slight expansion of the diapophyses and triangular ilio-sacral ligaments ( Emerson, 1979).Īdditional to using multiple locomotor modes, P. maculatus are easy to work with, robust to maintain in laboratory conditions, and can currently be sourced ethically in the USA/EU/UK.
Given their proclivity to walking, running, and climbing, we predict this species possesses a Type IIA pelvic morphotype. With muscular hindlimbs, this species forages in the savannah, long grass, and bushland terrestrially ( Bwong et al., 2017) while also escaping into the trees, climbing and jumping arboreally, making use of their well-developed toepads ( Loveridge, 1976). While colloquially called the red-legged running frog, P. maculatus excels at walking, running, hopping, climbing, and jumping ( Ahn, Furrow & Biewener, 2004 Porro et al., 2017 Richards, Porro & Collings, 2017 Richards, Eberhard & Collings, 2018). In this study we explore the pelvic and hindlimb anatomy of the hyperoliid Phlyctimantis maculatus ( Portik & Blackburn, 2016) (previously known as Kassina maculata). Hypothesised to allow for differential rotations about the ilio-sacral joint, the different morphotypes are understood as specialisations for different locomotor behaviours, such as swimming (Type I), walking (Type IIA), and jumping (Type IIB) ( Emerson, 1979 Reilly & Jorgensen, 2011 Jorgensen & Reilly, 2013). Three distinct morphotypes were defined by Emerson, Type I, Type IIA, and Type IIB, differing in muscle origin, insertion, and size, shape of sacral diapophysis, and the nature of the ligamentous attachments. One particular region of interest in anurans is the morphological variation in the sacrum and pelvis, thought to play a large role in the locomotor versatility observed across anuran taxa ( Emerson, 1979). As such, frogs have been used as models for understanding the biomechanics of jumping (e.g., Calow & Alexander, 1973 Kargo, Nelson & Rome, 2002 Roberts & Marsh, 2003 Astley & Roberts, 2014 Porro et al., 2017), swimming ( Gillis & Biewener, 2000 Nauwelaerts & Aerts, 2002 Richards & Biewener, 2007 Clemente & Richards, 2013) and walking ( Ahn, Furrow & Biewener, 2004 Reynaga, Astley & Azizi, 2018). Anurans are key to understanding the intricate connections among vertebrate musculoskeletal elements enabling limb motion ( Lombard & Abbott, 1907 Kargo & Rome, 2002 Kargo, Nelson & Rome, 2002).
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