DENTAL MORPHOLOGY AND DIET IN ANURAN AMPHIBIANS FROM SOUTH-INDIA

The morphology of the jaw and palatine surfaces of eight species of me tamorphosed anuran amphibians (Microhyla ornata, M. rubra, Uperodon sy stoma, Tomopterna rolandae, Polypedates maculatus, Rana cyanophlyctis, R. crassa and R. hexadactyla) from a locality in south India, were ex amined by scanning electron microscopy. A relationship was observed be tween dentition (or its absence) and diet. In large prey feeders, ther e is a strong tendency towards the development of large secondary (or even tertiary) cusps, while myrmecophagous and termitophagous species lack teeth. In the largely folivorous adults of Rana hexadactyla, seco ndary cusps are reduced to faint ridges and the tooth is cylindro-coni cal (as opposed to the recurved teeth with apices oriented lingually o r distally in the insectivorous species). Although the phylogenetic re lationships within members of the community are largely unknown, the o ral armature is reflective of diet, and may represent adaptive suites.