Morphological Deformities in Anuran Amphibians from the Khoper River Valley in the “Privolzhskaya Lesostep’” Nature Reserve and Adjacent Territories

Abstract

In summer 2016, we investigated Ostrovtsovskaya Lesostep’ (Penza region, Russia) and caught more than 130 specimens belonging to 4 species of anuran amphibians. We found a symmetric case of “hyperxanthism” of the eyes (a new type of anomaly among amphibians) in one Rana arvalis specimen, one asymmetric amely in Bombina bombina, and 21 specimens of Pelophylax ridibundus (19% of total sample) with deformed fore and hind limbs. We define some anomalies as “Rostand’s anomaly P” (in its extreme manifestations). The potential reasons of the morphological anomalies were discussed.