XIV.—The Anatomy of the Adhesive Apparatus in the Tadpoles of Rana afghana Günther, with special reference to the Adaptive Modifications

Abstract

At the instance of Dr S. L. Hora I was sent in the summers of 1929 and 1930 by the authorities of the Zoological Survey of India to Dumpep in the Khasi Hills, Assam, to carry out investigations on the ecology and bionomics of the anuran fauna of the torrential streams. During the second visit I was asked to make observations on and collect the early stages of the tadpoles of Rana afghana and of any species of Megophrys found in that area. I secured a fair series of the developmental stages of the tadpoles of R. afghana, but only mature tadpoles of two species of Megophrys. Dr Hora (1932) studied the tadpoles of R. afghana with special reference to the evolution and development of the adhesive apparatus. In view of the more or less complete developmental series of R. afghana tadpoles now available, Dr Hora very kindly suggested to me the investigation of the anatomy of the adhesive apparatus in this species.