A Preliminary Report on the Superficial Throat Musculature of the Microhylidae and Its Possible Role in Tongue Action

Micro-dissection of species of the Microhylidae reveals wide variation in the structure of the lower jaw elements and superficial throat musculature. The presence of posterolateral processes on the mentomeckelian bones makes it unlikely that tongue action is the same in these species as reported for Rana catesbeiana. The accessory slips of the intermandibularis posterior muscle are implicated, by their morphology, in feeding movements.