Interspecific Variations in Duration of Tail Regression in Two Tropical Anurans

Figure 4

Longitudinal sections of tail at stage XXIV (late) of P. maculatus and D. melanostictus showing localization of cathepsin D. (a) LS through whole tail of P. maculatus, (b) LS through whole tail of D. melanostictus, (c) epidermis in P. maculatus, (d) epidermis in D. melanostictus, (e) notochord in P. maculatus, (f) notochord in D. melanostictus, (g) muscle in P. maculatus, (h) muscle in D. melanostictus, and (i) spinal cord in P. maculatus (bars in (a) and (b) = 130 μm, (c)–(i) = 13 μm) (black arrows indicate cathepsin D positive tissues, blue arrow indicates degraded tissue which is not cathepsin D positive, and pink arrows indicate empty spaces); c: cuticle, dm: degenerating muscle, e: epidermis, ea: epidermal cells with apoptotic morphology, lc: loose cuticle, m: melanocytes, nc: notochordal cells, ns: notochordal sheath, sl: sarcolytes, and sc: spinal cord.

(a)

(b)

(c)

(d)

(e)

(f)

(g)

(h)

(i)