African clawed frog
| African clawed frog | |
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| Species: | X. laevis
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| Xenopus laevis Daudin, 1802
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The African clawed frog (Xenopus laevis, also known as the platanna) is a species of South African aquatic frog of the genus Xenopus. Its name is derived from the three short claws on each hind foot, which it probably uses to stir up mud to hide from predators. The word Xenopus means "strange foot" and laevis means "smooth".
African clawed frogs can grow up to a length of 5 in (12 cm). They have a flattened head and body, but no tongue or external ears.
The species is found throughout most of Africa, and in isolated, introduced populations in North America, South America, and Europe.[1] All species of the Pipidae family are tongueless, toothless and completely aquatic. They use their hands to shove food in their mouths and down their throats and a hyobranchial pump to draw or suck food in their mouth. Pipidae have powerful legs for swimming and lunging after food. They also use the claws on their feet to tear pieces of large food. They lack true ears but have lateral lines running down the length of the body and underside, which is how they can sense movements and vibrations in the water. They use their sensitive fingers, sense of smell, and lateral line system to find food. Pipidae are scavengers and will eat almost anything living, dying or dead and any type of organic waste.
There are 14 species of Xenopus with Xenopus gilli being the most endangered.
Description
These frogs are plentiful in ponds and rivers within the south-eastern portion of Sub-Saharan Africa. They are aquatic and are often greenish-grey in color. Albino varieties are commonly sold as pets. “Wild-type” African Clawed Frogs are also frequently sold as pets, and often incorrectly labeled as a Congo Frog or African Dwarf Frog because of similar colorings. They reproduce by laying eggs (see frog reproduction).
The average life-span of these frogs ranges from 5 to 15 years with some individuals recorded to have lived for nearly 20 years.[2] They shed their skin every season, and eat their own shedded skin.
Although lacking a vocal sac, the males make a mating call of alternating long and short trills, by contracting the intrinsic laryngeal muscles. Females also answer vocally, signaling either acceptance (a rapping sound) or rejection (slow ticking) of the male.[3][4] This frog has smooth slippery skin which is multicolored on its back with blotches of olive gray or brown. The underside is creamy white with a yellow tinge.
Male and female frogs can be easily distinguished through the following differences. Male frogs are usually about 20% smaller than females, with slim bodies and legs. Males make mating calls to attract females, sounding very much like a cricket calling underwater. Females are larger than the males, appearing far more plump with hip-like bulges above their rear legs (where their eggs are internally located). They also have a cloaca, a small bump between their hind legs where their eggs and waste are passed. While they do not sing or call out like males do, they do answer back (an extremely unique phenomenon in the animal world).
In the wild
In the wild, Xenopus laevis are native to wetlands, ponds and lakes across arid/semiarid regions of southern Africa. Xenopus laevis and Xenopus muelleri occur along the western boundary of the Great African Rift. The people of the sub-Saharan are generally very familiar with this frog, and some cultures use it as a source of protein, an aphrodisiac, or as fertility medicine. Wild Xenopus are much larger than their captive bred counterparts.
Use in research
Although X. laevis does not have the short generation time and genetic simplicity generally desired in genetic model organisms, it is an important model organism in developmental biology. X. laevis takes 1 to 2 years to reach sexual maturity and, like most of its genus, it is tetraploid. However, it does have a large and easily manipulable embryo. The ease of manipulation in amphibian embryos has given them an important place in historical and modern developmental biology. A related species, Xenopus tropicalis, is now being promoted as a more viable model for genetics. Roger Wolcott Sperry used X. laevis for his famous experiments describing the development of the visual system. These experiments led to the formulation of the Chemoaffinity hypothesis.
Xenopus oocytes provide an important expression system for molecular biology. By injecting DNA or mRNA into the oocyte or developing embryo, scientists can study the protein products in a controlled system. This allows rapid functional expression of manipulated DNAs (or mRNA). This is particularly useful in electrophysiology, where the ease of recording from the oocyte makes expression of membrane channels attractive. One challenge of oocyte work is eliminating native proteins that might confound results, such as membrane channels native to the oocyte. Translation of proteins can be blocked or splicing of pre-mRNA can be modified by injection of Morpholino antisense oligos into the oocyte (for distribution throughout the embryo) or early embryo (for distribution only into daughter cells of the injected cell).[5]
Extracts from the eggs of X. laevis frogs are also commonly used for biochemical studies of DNA replication and repair, as these extracts fully support DNA replication and other related processes in a cell-free environment which allows easier manipulation.[6]
The first vertebrate ever to be cloned was an African clawed frog.
Additionally, several African clawed frogs were present on the space shuttle Endeavour (which was launched into space on September 12, 1992) so that scientists could test whether reproduction and development could occur normally in zero gravity.[7][8]
X. laevis is also notable for its use in the first well-documented method of pregnancy testing when it was discovered that the urine from pregnant women induced X. laevis oocyte production. Human chorionic gonadotropin (HCG) is a hormone found in substantial quantities in the urine of pregnant women. Today, commercially available HCG is injected into Xenopus males and females to induce mating behavior and to breed these frogs in captivity at any time of the year.[citation needed]
As pets
Xenopus laevis have been kept as pets and research subjects since as early as the 1950s. They are extremely hardy and long lived, having been known to live up to 20 years in captivity.
Due to incidences in which these frogs were released and allowed to escape into the wild, African Clawed Frogs are illegal to own, transport or sell without a permit in the following US states: Arizona, California, Kentucky, Louisiana, New Jersey, North Carolina, Oregon, Virginia, Hawaii[9], Nevada, Washington state. However, it is legal to own Xenopus laevis in Canada.[10][11]
African Clawed Frogs are frequently mislabeled at African Dwarf Frogs in pet stores. The astute pet owner will recognize the difference, however, because of the following characteristics:
- Dwarf frogs have four webbed feet. African Clawed Frogs have webbed hind feet while their front feet have autonomous digits.
- African Clawed frogs are often found in albino varieties. No such morphology exists for the African Dwarf Frog.
- African Dwarf Frogs have eyes positioned on the side of their head, while African Clawed Frogs have eyes on the top of their heads
- African Clawed Frogs have curved, flat snouts. The snout of an African Dwarf Frog is pointed.
As a pest
African Clawed Frogs are voracious predators and easily adapt to many habitats.[12] For this reason, they can easily become harmful invasive species. They can travel short distances to other bodies of water, and some have even been documented to survive mild freezes. They have been shown to devastate native populations of frogs and other creatures by eating their young.
In 2003, Xenopus frogs were discovered in a pond at San Francisco's Golden Gate Park. Much debate now exists in the area on how to terminate these creatures and keep them from spreading.[13][14] It is unknown if these frogs entered the San Francisco ecosystem through intentional release or escape into the wild.
See also
References
- ^ Template:IUCN2006 Database entry includes a range map and justification for why this species is of least concern
- ^ http://animaldiversity.ummz.umich.edu/site/accounts/information/Xenopus_laevis.html
- ^ ADW: Xenopus Laevis: Information
- ^ ADW: NPR: Listening To Love Songs of African Clawed Frogs
- ^ Comparison of morpholino based translational inhib...[Genesis. 2001] - PubMed Result
- ^ Blow JJ, Laskey RA (1986 month = November). "Initiation of DNA replication in nuclei and purified DNA by a cell-free extract of Xenopus eggs.". Cell. 47 (4): 577–87. PMID 3779837.
{{cite journal}}: Check date values in:|year=(help)CS1 maint: year (link) - ^ Ludington Daily News - Sep 14, 1992, p. 7
- ^ Reading Eagle - Sep 11, 1992, p. A8
- ^ ADW: Honolulu Star-Bulletin Wednesday, July 3, 2002
- ^ ADW: New Brunswick Regulation 92-74
- ^ ADW: New Brunswick Acts and regulations
- ^ ADW: Columbia: Introduced Species Summary Project
- ^ "Killer Meat-Eating Frogs Terrorize San Francisco". FoxNews.
- ^ "The Killer Frogs of Lily Pond:San Francisco poised to checkmate amphibious African predators of Golden Gate Park". San Francisco Chronicle.
External links
- Xenbase A Xenopus laevis and X. tropicalis web resource.
- The stages of Xenopus embryonic development Adapted from P.D. Nieuwkoop and J. Faber's Normal Table of Xenopus laevis (Daudin).
- Xenopus laevis Une fiche d'élevage sur les Xénopes en français.
- Xenopus laevis Keller Explants
- Xenopus laevis recordings