Morphology of lentic and lotic tadpoles from Madagascar

BACKGROUND: The morphology of anuran larvae is suggested to differ between species with tadpoles living in standing (lentic) and running (lotic) waters. To explore which character combinations within the general tadpole morphospace are associated with these habitats, we studied categorical and metric larval data of 123 (one third of which from lotic environments) Madagascan anurans. RESULTS: Using univariate and multivariate statistics, we found that certain combinations of fin height, body musculature and eye size prevail either in larvae from lentic or lotic environments. CONCLUSION: Evidence for adaptation to lotic conditions in larvae of Madagascan anurans is presented. While lentic tadpoles typically show narrow to moderate oral discs, small to medium sized eyes, convex or moderately low fins and non-robust tail muscles, tadpoles from lotic environments typically show moderate to broad oral discs, medium to big sized eyes, low fins and a robust tail muscle. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s40850-021-00091-9.