Aspects of the natural history of Leptodactylus knudseni Heyer, 1972 (Anura: Leptodactylidae) in a pristine forest in Central Amazonia, Brazil, with comments on ontogenetic variation of its tadpoles

ABSTRACT

The Leptodactylus pentadactylus species group is comprised of medium to large species of Neotropical frogs. Leptodactylus knudseni, a member of this species group, has a wide distribution throughout the Amazon Basin. Herein we describe aspects of the reproductive biology of L. knudseni and provide notes about the ontogenetic variation of its tadpoles based on a population in a non-flooded forest near Manaus, Amazonian Brazil. Amplectant pairs of L. knudseni lay foam nests in excavated basins on the edge of temporary ponds located on clay soil and at least 50 m from a stream. The tadpole development happens initially in the foam nests with access to the pond after the rain flooding the basins. Studied clutches lacked trophic eggs and tadpoles did not produce foam. Ontogenetic variations in L. knudseni tadpoles are related to size, teeth formulae and body colour. The use of excavated basins for the deposition of foam nests has been reported in several species of the L. pentadactylus group. The absence of trophic eggs and production of foam by the tadpoles differ from other species of the L. pentadactylus group. The tadpole morphology is similar to that described for other species of the group.

KEYWORDS:

• Leptodactylus pentadactylus species group
• reproductive behaviour
• sexual dimorphism
• tadpole morphology

Acknowledgements

We are grateful to Adrian A. Barnett and Maria Isabel da Silva for reviewing the English; Wagner R. Silva, Maria Ermelinda Oliveira and Igor L. Kaefer for constructive comments on earlier drafts; Instituto Nacional de Pesquisas da Amazônia (INPA) for the authorisation to use the Reserva Ducke research base; Osmaildo F. Silva for fieldwork assistance; Instituto Chico Mendes de Conservação da Biodiversidade (ICMBio) for collection permits (# 13123-1); and Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq #457545/2012-7) for financial support. This study was supported by a graduate fellowship from Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado do Amazonas (FAPEAM) to RMCP and a Research Productivity grant from CNPq to MM. The Reserva Ducke is part of the Programa de Pesquisa em Biodiversidade (PPBio) of the Brazilian Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation (MCTI).

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico [CNPq #457545/2012-7]; and the Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado do Amazonas [graduate fellowship].