Herpetology Notes, volume 13: 109-111 (2020) (published online on 11 February 2020)

Congeneric predation of Leptodactylus fuscus (Schneider, 1799) by Leptodactylus chaquensis Cei, 1950 (Anura, Leptodactylidae)

William P. Costa1,* and César C. Trevelin2

Amphibians are an important component of natural fuscus (Schneider, 1799). Like L. chaquensis, L. fuscus ecosystems due to their ecological interactions with is a nocturnal species that reproduces during the rainy other organisms, as either prey or predators (Toledo season, and is tolerant of anthropogenic disturbance et al., 2007). Frogs are generalist and opportunistic (Wynn and Heyer, 2001); also, the two species are often predators, typically feeding on any potential prey found in the same water body (Oda et al., 2016). This available in the environment (Sugai et al., 2012; Ceron ecological and geographical overlap (Oda et al., 2016) et al., 2018). This opportunistic behaviour often involves favours interactions between the two species. batracophagy (preying upon other amphibians; Santana The predation event occurred on 24 May 2018, et al., 2012; Sousa et al., 2016), which may occur from between 20:55 h and 21:27 h, during fieldwork in the eggs to adults (e.g. Cardoso and Sazima, 1977; Pirani municipality of Acreúna, Goiás State, Brazil (GPS et al., 2010). coordinates 17.3882°S, 50.1758°W; datum = SIRGAS Frogs of the family Leptodactylidae are known to prey 2000). An adult of L. chaquensis was observed preying opportunistically on anurans of other taxonomic groups upon a much smaller adult of L. fuscus at the margin of (see Queiroz et al., 2019). These interactions seem a temporary pond (Fig. 1), distant about 35 m from a relatively common, and reflect the importance of these larger, permanent pond. When found, the left hind limb species in their respective ecological communities. of the L. fuscus was already in the mouth of the predator, For instance, Leptodactylus chaquensis Cei, 1950 while the right hind limb was still outside (Fig. 1A-B). preys upon many taxa, ranging from invertebrates During the event, the only anti-predator behaviour (Duré, 1999; Camurugi et al., 2017) to other anuran displayed by L. fuscus was the inflation of its lungs species (see Costa-Pereira et al., 2015; Oda et al., (Toledo et al., 2011); it did not emit any perceptible 2016; Camurugi et al., 2017; Carrillo et al., 2019). This kind of agonistic vocalisation. The predator maintained species is broadly distributed in non-forested domains its body slightly extended while swallowing the prey of northern Argentina, Uruguay, and neighbouring (Fig. 1C-D), which may have facilitated its ingestion. areas of Bolivia, Paraguay, and Brazil (Frost, 2019), The L. chaquensis individual escaped after one attempt where it is associated primarily with seasonally-flooded to collect it 30 minutes after the event. environments, including permanent or temporary ponds This study confirms the predation of a second congener (Oda et al., 2016). by L. chaquensis, the first being L. podicipinus (Cope, We document here a new case of congeneric 1962) (Carrillo et al., 2019). While L. chaquensis is batracophagy, i.e., L. chaquensis preying upon L. considered to be a typical insectivore (Costa-Pereira et al., 2015; Camurugi et al., 2017), there is increasing evidence of the importance of anurans in its diet. Although batrachophagy in the genus Leptodactylus is well documented (Oda et al., 2016), these frogs 1 Departamento de Zoologia, Instituto de Biociências, are considered opportunistic predators, in which Universidade Estadual “Júlio de Mesquita Filho” (UNESP), the composition of the feeding niche is determined campus Botucatu, SP, Brasil. primarily by encounters with prey (Toledo et al., 2007). 2 Departamento de Economia, Sociologia e Tecnologia, In L. chaquensis, which is considered to be intermediate Faculdade de Ciências Agronômicas, Universidade Estadual Paulista “Júlio de Mesquita Filho”, Botucatu, São Paulo, between “sit-and-wait” and active searching regarding Brasil. its foraging strategy (Schaefer et al., 2006), these * Corresponding author. E-mail: [email protected] encounters will typically involve relatively common 110 William P. Costa & César C. Trevelin

Figure 1. Predation of Leptodactylus fuscus by L. chaquensis, municipality of Acreúna, Goiás State, Brazil. A: First observation of the interaction; B: L. chaquensis biting the posterior region of L. fuscus; C: L. chaquensis after swallowing L. fuscus almost entirely; D: Aftermath of the predation event.

prey species of small body size, like L. fuscus (Costa- Cardoso, A.J., Sazima, I. (1977): Batracofagia na fase adulta e Pereira et al., 2015). Overall, this study expands the larvária da rã pimenta Leptodactylus labyrinthicus (Spix, 1824) database on batrachophagy in anuran communities, – Anura, Leptodactylidae. Ciência e Cultura 29: 1130–1132. Carrillo, J.F.C., Ferreira, V.G., Santana, D.J. (2019): Batrachophagy and provides insights for the understanding of this by Leptodactylus chaquensis (Anura: Leptodactylidae) in the phenomenon in leptodactylid frogs. Brazilian Cerrado and Pantanal. Herpetology Notes 12: 261– 263. Acknowledgments. We would like to thank Sônia Cristina da Ceron, K., Moroti, M.T., Benício, R.A., Balboa, Z.P., Marçola, Silva Belentani and José Fernando Pacheco for assistance and Y., Pereira, L.B., Santana, D.J. (2018): Diet and first report support during fieldwork. We also thank Silvio César de Almeida of batracophagy in Leptodactylus podicipinus (Anura: for his critical revision of the manuscript. Leptodactylidae), Neotropical Biodiversity 4: 69–73. Costa-Pereira, R., Sugai, J.L.M.M., Duleba, S., Sugai, L.S.M., Terra, References J.S., Souza, F.L. (2015): Predation on Physalaemus centralis by the Chaco Frog Leptodactylus chaquensis. Herpetology Notes Camurugi, F., Magalhães, F.M., Queiroz, M.H.C., Pereira, T.C.S.O., 8: 345–346. Tavares-Bastos, L., Lopes-Marinho, E.S., Neves, J.M.M., Duré, M.I. (1999): Leptodactylus chaquensis (NCN). Diet. Garda, A.A. (2017): Reproduction, Sexual Dimorphism, and Herpetological Review 30: 1. Diet of Leptodactylus chaquensis (Anura, Leptodactylidae) in Frost, D.R. (2019): Amphibian species of the world: an online Northeastern Brazil. Herpetological Conservation and Biology reference. Version 6.0. American Museum of Natural History, 12: 498–508. New York, USA. Electronic Database. Available at: http:// Congeneric predation of Leptodactylus fuscus by Leptodactylus chaquensis 111

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Accepted by Renato Nali