Meeting Abstract
The tail-straddling walk of plethodontid salamanders is a stereotypical courtship behavior to ensure spermatophore uptake by the female. With the recent description of the circular-tail-straddling walk in Aneides ferreus, it became clear that females are more actively participating in this courtship ritual than previously understood. We examined the tailbase region of both male and female A. ferreus for potential pheromone-producing glands (modified-granular glands) which have been described primarily in male salamanders. We identified these glands using histochemistry and morphology, in both males and females, on the dorsal and ventral surfaces of the tail. These glands are similar to the known pheromone-producing gland on the chin of males, the mental gland. They are positive for the periodic-acid Schiff test, have a granular secretory product, and have large secretory cells around the gland periphery. The presence of these modified granular glands is not sexually dimorphic, though not all females examined possessed them. The frequency is sexually dimorphic; males have more modified-granular glands on their dorsum than females do. No modified granular glands were identified on the dorsal tailbase region in females of the other species examined that perform the linear tail-straddling walk (Aneides hardii, Aneides flavipunctatus, and Aneides lugubris). The modified granular glands on the ventral tailbase region are thought to be involved in marking the substrate. Our results suggest that during the circular-tail-straddling-walk, the female is signaling to the male as well as vice-versa.
