Multiple Cases of Hypomelanism in Wood Frog Larvae (Rana sylvatica) Associated with Developmental Retardation and Mortality

A.Z. Andis Arietta^1,*, Adriana Rubinstein¹, L. Kealoha Freidenburg¹, and Paige N.K. Johnson¹

¹Department of Environmental Science and Technology, 1443 Animal Science Bldg, University of Maryland, College Park, MD 20742. *Corresponding author.

Northeastern Naturalist, Volume 27, Issue 4 (2020): 641–648

Abstract
Hypomelanism in natural populations is rare and has been anecdotally associated with developmental retardation and mortality when present in anuran larvae. We report multiple, recent cases of hypomelanism across 5 populations in 2 counties in Connecticut. We also experimentally confirm that this phenotype is associated with extremely delayed metamorphosis and increased mortality.

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