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Absence of ribs in frogs?
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Stan Dalton
Feb 26, 1995, 11:06:11 PM2/26/95
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A zoology student of mine was dissecting a frog in lab last week and
asked me why frogs don't have ribs. I know that some amphibians do
have ribs and some amphibians (the frog obviously) don't. The three
possibilities that I came up with were (1) positive pressure respiration
doesn't require ribs or a diaphragm; (2) ribs are for lateral support of
the thoracic cavity and since a frog's belly is at ground level they
don't need this support; and (3) a weight reduction feature for jumping.
Anybody got any plausible explanations about the absence of frog ribs?
TIA!
Stan Dalton
asked me why frogs don't have ribs. I know that some amphibians do
have ribs and some amphibians (the frog obviously) don't. The three
possibilities that I came up with were (1) positive pressure respiration
doesn't require ribs or a diaphragm; (2) ribs are for lateral support of
the thoracic cavity and since a frog's belly is at ground level they
don't need this support; and (3) a weight reduction feature for jumping.
Anybody got any plausible explanations about the absence of frog ribs?
TIA!
Stan Dalton
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