Herpetology Notes, volume 11: 863-864 (2018) (published online on 15 October 2018)
Notes on the diet of Limnomedusa macroglossa (Alsodidae, Anura) in Uruguay Renata Perez1,*, Jéssica Francine Felappi1, and Fabiane de Oliveira Noronha1
Limnomedusa macroglossa (Duméril and Bibron, 1841) is a medium-sized species, males with 42–53mm snout-vent length (SVL) and females 42–62 mm, and present terrestrial or semi-fossorial habits, usually living along rocky outcrops and streambeds (Kwet et al., 2010; Maneyro et al., 2017). The species is distributed in southern Brazil, from Paraná to Rio Grande do Sul states, northern Argentina, Paraguay and Uruguay (Langone, 1995; Winck et al., 2006; Conte et al., 2009; Kwet et al., 2010; Maneyro and Carreira, 2012). According to the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species, Limnomedusa macroglossa is classified as Least Concern (Silvano et al., 2004). This species is found in almost all Uruguay territory, associated to rocky outcrops and small water courses, with males usually calling at the water edge or partially submerged (Langone, 1995; Winck et al., 2006; Maneyro and Carreira, 2012). Some studies have reported information about the reproductive biology of the species (see Gudynas and Gehrau, 1981; Langone and Prigioni, 1985; Kaefer et al., 2009) however, there are no studies regarding its diet, although Maneyro and Carreira (2012) suggested an insectivorous habit. In June 2011, an adult male of Limnomedusa macroglossa (SVL: 49.5 mm, Fig. 1) was found under a rock in an outcrop next to a brook, near Zapucay, Tacuarembó Department, Uruguay (31°47’33.29’’S , 55°18’54.20’’W). Due to its remarkable stomach volume, the specimen was dissected and two whole scorpions (Urophonius sp., total length: 30.40 mm and 30.60 mm) were found in it.
Programa de Pós-graduação em Biologia Animal. Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul. Av. Bento Gonçalves, 9500, Campus do Vale, Agronomia, Porto Alegre, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil. * Corresponding author. E-mail:
[email protected]
Anurans represent 6% of scorpion’s predators (Polis et al., 1981; McCormick and Polis, 1990) with at least 14 scorpion species recorded in their diet (Polis et al., 1981; Lourenço et al., 1997; Botero-Trujillo, 2006; Maia-Carneiro et al., 2012; Pueta and Perotti, 2013). Apparently, large terrestrial anurans can feed extensively on scorpions (Lourenço and Cuelar, 1995), and represent active predators and effective means of population control (Lourenço et al., 1997). Nevertheless, some studies in anuran’s diet could not correctly identify the scorpions’ species and usually represent them within Arachnidae (Maragno and Souza, 2011). That could underestimate the scorpion’s predation within anuran species. As most of anurans, Alsodidae species mainly predate on invertebrates (Alveal et al., 2015). However they are poorly known about their feeding habits, for example, Alsodes coppingeri (Günther, 1881) feeds about 22 categories of preys, with Araneae the third most represented (Alveal et al., 2015). Despite Maneyro and
1
Figure 1. Limnomedusa macroglossa (RML Tacuarembó, Uruguay. Photo by J. F. Felappi.
2584),
864 Carreira (2012) reported insect larvae, orthopterans, coleopterans and ants, the present study represents the first published record of Limnomedusa macroglossa diet and the first observation of scorpion’s predations for Alsodidae family. Acknowledgements. We thank Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES) for the grant conceded.
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Accepted by Diego Santana
