Herpetology Notes, volume 14: 965-967 (2021) (published online on 07 July 2021)

Defensive behaviour of Hydrolaetare schmidti (Cochran & Goin, 1959) (Anura: )

Vinícius Antônio Martins Barbosa de Figueiredo1,*, Janaina Freitas Calado2, Débora Regina dos Santos Arraes2, Patrick de Castro Cantuária3, Rodrigo Tavares-Pinheiro1, Abdiel Pinheiro-Freitas1, and Carlos Eduardo Costa-Campos1

Predation has been an important factor in the evolution 1994). It is considered widely distributed, occurring in of anuran defence mechanisms (Vitt and Caldwell, patches throughout the Amazon basin in northwestern 2014). When predator-prey interactions are established, , , , , and (Padial anurans may employ various defence strategies (Wells, and De La Riva, 2005; Jansen et al., 2007; Ferrão et 2007). Furthermore, behavioural responses by anurans al., 2014; Lima et al., 2019). However, its natural depend on the morphology and ecology of the history is poorly known. Thus, we aim to report the first and may act in different phases of predation through observation of defensive behaviours in the Schmidt’s different defensive strategies (Toledo et al., 2011). Hydrolaetare schmidti. Among leptodactylids, several defensive behaviours The defensive behaviour showed by an adult male have been reported, such as stiff-legged behaviour, of H. schmidti (snout-vent length = 105.17 mm) was digging, charging, head hitting and production of observed on 16 July 2019, at 10:00 h. When handled secretions (Giaretta and Cardoso, 1995; Vaira, 1997; De at the laboratory, the animal filled the lungs with air Carvalho, 2005; Lenzi-Matos et al., 2005; Toledo et al., to increase its size. Then, we exposed the frog to 2005, 2011; Lourenço-De-Moraes et al., 2014; Castro artificial stimuli produced by us, in order to observe its et al., 2017). behaviour. Firstly, the frog remained motionless after In the family Leptodactylidae, the genus Hydrolaetare being touched, only with lungs full of air (Fig. 1A). (Galardo, 1963) consists of anuran species considered Then, after a few seconds without any disturbance, locally rare (i.e., poorly sampled in species surveys) the frog extended its limbs (front and rear), repeating in the Amazon (Ferrão et al., 2014; Lima et al., 2019). the behaviour a few times (Fig. 1B). In addition, when Currently, this clade comprises only 3 species (Frost, touched laterally, the frog directed its back towards the 2020): Hydrolaetare caparu Jansen et al., 2007; H. hand of one of us (Fig. 1C). Finally, after a few seconds dantasi (Bokermann, 1959) and H. schmidti (Cochran of observation, the frog tried to escape (Fig. 1D). These & Goin, 1959). Hydrolaetare schmidti is a nocturnal behaviours were observed for about 5 minutes, with aquatic frog that inhabits the banks of lakes and slow intervals when the frog returned to normal posture. rivers or underground galleries, being used as shelter The specimen was housed at the Herpetological and even vocalization sites (Rodríguez and Duellman, Collection of the Laboratório de Herpetologia of Universidade Federal do Amapá (voucher CECC 3422). The video recording was deposited at Fonoteca Neotropical Jacques Vielliard, Campinas, São Paulo 1 Universidade Federal do Amapá, Departamento de Ciências State, Brazil, under the access code ZUEC-VID 786, Biológicas e da Saúde, Laboratório de Herpetologia, Campus and a video sample can be assessed at: https://www2. Marco Zero do Equador, 68.903-419, Macapá, AP, Brazil. ib.unicamp.br/fnjv/collection.php?zuec-vid=786. 2 Universidade do Estado do Amapá, Curso de Ciências Naturais, Avenida Presidente Vargas, 68.900-070, Macapá, According to the terminology proposed by Toledo AP, Brazil. et al. (2011), the individual of H. schmidti displayed 3 Instituto de Pesquisas Científicas e Tecnológicas do Estado do three types of defensive behaviours: puffing up the Amapá, Avenida Juscelino Kubitschek, Fazendinha, 68.903- body [comparable to “inflation of the body” sensu 970, Macapá, AP, Brazil. Wells (2007) and “lung inflation” sensu Ferrante et al. * Corresponding author. E-mail: [email protected] (2014)], body-raising, and body-tilting. In general, many © 2021 by Herpetology Notes. Open Access by CC BY-NC-ND 4.0. anurans respond to predators by elevating the body and 966 Vinícius Antônio Martins Barbosa de Figueiredo et al.

Figure 1. Sequence of defensive behaviours displayed by Hydrolaetare schmidti in northern Brazil: (A) puffing up the body; (B) body-raising after handling; (C) body-tilting; (D) escape behaviour. The video was deposited under the voucher ZUEC-VID 786 (see text for details).

inflating themselves with air, to increase body size and Our observations are the first published on defence discourage the predator to capture it (Wells, 2007; Das behaviours in H. schmidti, showing that many aspects et al., 2010). Puffing up the body is a common behaviour about the behaviour and ecology of this species are performed by anurans and is usually associated with still unknown. We encourage further records of these other defensive postures, such as body-tilting, which mechanisms to improve the knowledge about the consists of directing the dorsum towards the predator, natural history of species, serving as fundamental bases and body-raising, which depends on the position of the for ecological and conservation studies. legs to extend (Toledo et al., 2011). Puffing up the body was already observed in pentadactylus Acknowledgements. We are grateful to Adrian Garda for his help and L. mystacinus (Villa, 1969; De Carvalho, 2005). in improving this manuscript. We would like to thank Patrick R. Body-raising was also recorded for L. labyrinthicus Sanches, Jackson C. Sousa and Thiago M. Brito for assistance during field work. Specimens were collected under the permission (Toledo et al., 2005). issued by ICMBio (license # 48102-2), and logistical support was In addition, when handled a second time, the animal provided by the Laboratório de Herpetologia from Universidade scratched the finger of one of the researchers. This Federal do Amapá. behaviour has already been reported by Toledo et al. (2011), in which some anurans use their spines on the References prepollex, prehallux or claws in the terminal phalanges to scratch any reachable body part of a predator. Species Bokermann, W.C.A. (1959): Una nueva especie de Leptodactylus de la region Amazonica (Amphibia, Salientia, Leptodactylidae). of Hydrolaetare present serrate fringes on fingers that Neotropica 5: 5–8. can be keratinised in males, females, and subadults Castro, D.P., Borjes-Nojosa, D.M., Oliveira, J.A.A., Borges- (Souza and Haddad, 2003). Thus, this structure may be Leite, M.J., Silva, M.M.X. (2017): Defensive behavior in associated with a defence mechanism. Leptodactylus vastus A. Lutz, 1930, in northeastern Brazil. Defensive behaviour of Hydrolaetare schmidti 967

Herpetozoa 29: 214–218. Lima, J.R.F., Lima, J.D., Sousa, J.C., Oliveira, S.H., Costa-Campos, Cochran, D.M., Goin, C.J. (1959): A new frog of the genus C.E. (2019): Hydrolaetare schmidti (Cochran & Goin, 1959): Limnomedusa from Columbia. Copeia 1959: 208–210. new records for Amapá state, eastern Amazon and a geographic Das, I., Sengupta, S., Das, A. (2010): Hylarana leptoglossa (Long- distribution map. Check List 15: 815–819. tongued Frog). Defensive Behavior. Herpetological Review 41: Lourenço-De-Moraes, R., Batista, V.G., Ferreira, R.B. (2014): 196–197. Defensive behaviors of Leptodactylus chaquensis (Anura: De Carvalho, R.R. Jr (2005): Leptodactylus mystacinus (Mustached Leptodactylidae). Herpetology Notes 7: 391–392. Frog). Deimatic behavior. Herpetological Review 36: 161. Padial, J.M., De La Riva, I. (2005): First record of Hydrolaetare Ferrante, L., Sacramento, M., Angulo, A. (2014): Defensive schmidti (Cochran & Goin, 1959) for Bolivia and new behaviour in Aplastodiscus leucopygius (Cruz and Peixoto, distributional data of Bolivian Anurans. Herpetozoa 18: 65–67. 1985) (Anura: Hylidae). Herpetology Notes 7: 135–138. Rodríguez, L.O., Duellman, W.E. (1994): Guide to the of the Ferrão, M., Fraga, R., Simões, P.I., Lima, A.P. (2014): On Iquitos region, Amazonian Peru. University of Kansas, Natural the poorly sampled Amazonian frogs genus Hydrolaetare History Museum, Special Publication 22: 1–80. (Anura: Leptodactylidae): geographic ranges and species Souza, M.B., Haddad, C.F.B. (2003): Redescription and reevaluation identification. Salamandra 50: 77–84. of the generic status of Leptodactylus dantasi (Amphibia, Anura, Frost, D.R. (2020): Species of the Would: an Online Leptodactylidae) and description of its unusual advertisement Reference. Version 6.0. New York, American, Museum of call. Journal of Herpetology 37: 490–497. History. Available at http://research.amnh.org/herpetology/ Toledo, L.F., Sazima, I., Haddad, C.F.B. (2011): Behavioural amphibia/index.html. Accessed on 5 February 2020. defences of anurans: an overview. Ethology Ecology & Galardo, J.M. (1963): Hydrolaetare, nuevo genero de Evolution 23: 1–25. Leptodactylidae (Amphibia) Neotropical. Neotropica 9: 42–48. Toledo, L.F., Tozetti, A.M., Zina, J. (2005): Leptodactylus Giaretta, A.A., Cardoso, A. (1995): Reproductive behavior of labyrinthicus (Pepper Frog): Defensive repertoire. Herpetological dubius Miranda-Ribeiro (Amphibia, Anura, Bulletin 90: 29–31. Leptodactylidae). Revista Brasileira de Zoologia 12: 229–232. Vaira, M. (1997): Leptodactylus bolivianus (NCN). Behavior. Jansen, M., Álvarez, L.G., Köhler, G. (2007): New species of Herpetological Review 28: 200. Hydrolaetare (Anura, Leptodactylidae) from Bolivia with Villa, J. (1969): Comportamiento defensivo de la” Rana Ternero”, some notes on its natural history. Journal of Herpetology 41: Leptodactylus pentadactylus. Revista de Biologia Tropical 15: 724–732. 323–329. Lenzi-Mattos, R., Antoniazzi, M.M., Haddad, C.F.B., Tambourgi, Vitt, L.J., Caldwell, J.P. (2014): Herpetology: an introductory D.V., Rodrigues, M.T., Jared, C. (2005): The inguinal macroglands biology of and reptiles. California, Academic Press. of the frog Physalaemus nattereri (Leptodactylidae): structure, Wells, K.D. (2007): The ecology and behavior of amphibians. toxic secretion and relationship with deimatic behaviour. Journal Chicago, University of Chicago Press. of Zoology 266: 385–394.

Accepted by Renato Nali