Especializaciones del tegumento de incubación de la hembra de Cryptobatrachus boulengeri (Amphibia: anura: hylidae)

Histological and cytological modifications related to the Incubation of the eggs on the dorsum of the female are observed in the incubatory tegument as compared with the skin of adult males and females of Cryptobatrachus boulengeri. The epidermis and dermis are significantly thicker and have a spongy appearance. The two types of mucous glands are active and secrete acid glycoproteins. The secretion of the G2 mucous glands is holocrine as observed in females with dorsal eggs in the first developmental stages. There are two mechanisms for the firm sticking of the egg mass to the frog's back: mechanical, related to the anchorage of the envelope of eggs into the microscopic epithelial infoldings scattered throughout the maternal tegument, and chemical, by the sticky secretions of mucous glands, especially of the G2 glands.