The ability to sense and localize sound is so advantageous for survival that it is difficult to
understand the almost 100 million year gap separating the appearance of early tetrapods …

Habitat is one of the most important factors sha** organismal morphology, but it may vary
across life history stages. Ontogenetic shifts in ecology may introduce antagonistic selection …

A rich history of comparative research in the auditory field has afforded a synthetic view of
sound information processing by ears and brains. Some organisms have proven to be …

African pygmy toads of the genus Poyntonophrynus are some of the least known species of
African toads. The genus comprises ten recognized species endemic to sub-Saharan Africa …

Genome size varies widely among organisms and is known to affect vertebrate
development, morphology, and physiology. In amphibians, genome size is hypothesized to …

Introduction: Shared selection pressures often explain convergent trait loss, yet anurans
(frogs and toads) have lost their middle ears at least 38 times with no obvious shared …

Location of sound sources is a fundamental task of the auditory system. Recent studies have
shown that land vertebrates employ an array of sound localization strategies. We have …

Hearing sensitivity has been extensively investigated, often by measuring the auditory
brainstem response (ABR). ABR measurements are relatively non-invasive, easy to …

The loss of hearing structures and loss of advertisement calls in many terrestrial breeding
frogs (Strabomantidae) living at high elevations in South America are common and …

We studied the status of toads of the genus Rhinella collected in the southern Cordillera
Azul, central Peru. Molecular analysis of the mitochondrial 16S rRNA gene revealed them to …