Taxonomic and evolutionary significance of biogenic amines and polypeptides occurring in amphibian skin. I. Neotropical Leptodactylid frogs

Abstract

Qualitative identification and quantitative estimation both of aromatic biogenic amines and pharmacologically active polypeptides in the skin of amphibians appear to offer a valuable contribution to studies in taxonomy and evolution of this vertebrate class. Several examples of the accordance of the biochemical data herein reported with the data of traditional taxonomy are described for the neotropical family of frogs Leptodactylidae, but particular emphasis is laid on the striking correspondence between the systemic distribution of the spectra of biogenic amines and morphological taxonomy which is demonstrated by the species of the genus Leptodactylus.