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. 2007 Sep;211(3):271–279. doi: 10.1111/j.1469-7580.2007.00757.x

Fig. 1.

Fig. 1

The postsacral skeleton of Leptobrachella. (A) An adult of Leptobrachella mjobergi (FMNH 222857) cleared and stained for bone (red) and cartilage (blue) shown in dorsal perspective. The presacral skeleton comprises eight imbricate vertebrae, each bearing transverse processes. The sacral vertebra (black arrowhead) is followed caudally by the urostyle. Scale bar, 5 mm. (B) Postsacral skeleton of A shown at higher magnification. The elongate urostyle (outlined in blue) is built from the fusion of the coccyx with the ossified hypochord. The sacral diapophyses (d) articulate with the pelvic ilia (i). (C) A Stage-40 metamorph of Leptobrachella mjobergi (FMNH 157998) shown in dorsal view. The postsacral skeleton comprises 29 discrete, perichordal centra. Scale bar, 3 mm. (D) Lateral view at level of the sacrum (black arrowhead) of Stage-42 Leptobrachella parva (FMNH 244079). A longitudinal ridge (white arrowhead) can be seen on the ventral face of the first postsacral centrum. This structure will probably contribute to the urostyle of the adult skeleton. Scale bar, 1 mm. (E) Close-up lateral view of most caudal centra of Leptobrachella parva metamorph (same specimen as in D). Vertebrae are porous and fragmented, suggestive of osteoclastic degradation. PS25, the 25th postsacral centrum. Scale bar, 1 mm.