Análisis morfométrico de Pleurodema thaul (Lesson, 1826) (Anura, Leptodactylidae) y algunas consideraciones acerca de su morfología esternal

Abstract

Morphometry and anatomical variability of Pleurodema thaul popula­tions from Argentina and Chile were analyzed. Multivariate statistical tests were applied to 16 morphometric variables. Results indicate that the studied populations of P. thaul cannot be distinguished in different mor­photypes, as previously proposed. Skeletal morphology of the sternum (xiphisternum) reveals that the Argentine populations of P. thaul have an incised sternum, as the sternum observed in chilean specimens. Our results do not allow supporting the separation of P. thaul in different specific entities.