Predation on Leptodactylus Marmoratus (Anura: Leptodactylidae) by the Spider Ctenus Medius (Araneae: Ctenidae) in the Atlantic Forest, Southeast Brazil
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Herpetology Notes, volume 2: 99-100 (2009) (published online on 19 July 2009 ) Predation on Leptodactylus marmoratus (Anura: Leptodactylidae) by the spider Ctenus medius (Araneae: Ctenidae) in the Atlantic Forest, southeast Brazil Fausto E. Barbo1, 2*, Murilo G. Rodrigues1, 3, Fernando M. Couto1, 2 and Ricardo J. Sawaya1 Abstract. We report herein a case of predation by the ctenid spider Ctenus medius on a leptodactylid frog Leptodactylus marmoratus, observed in a remnant of the Atlantic Forest, municipality of São Vicente, São Paulo state, southeast Brazil. This is the first record of predation by C. medius upon L. marmoratus. Nevertheless, due to the high abundance of both groups, we suggest that the interaction between spiders and amphibians could be very common on the floor of the Atlantic Forest. Keywords. Amphibia, leaf litter, anurans, Neotropical region. Predation is one of the most important regulators in During a herpetofaunal survey conducted on the 26th terrestrial anuran communities (Duellman & Trueb May 2009 in Parque Estadual Xixová-Japuí (municipal- 1986). Such interaction may be common in the wild due ity of São Vicente, São Paulo state, southeast Brazil), we to the abundance and gregarious behaviour of anurans observed a juvenile ctenid spider Ctenus medius (16,2 (Pombal-Junior 2007). Spiders feed on a variety of ver- mm cephalothorax + abdomen length) capturing an tebrates such as small mammals, birds, and lizards (Mc- adult individual of the leptodactylid frog Leptodactylus Cormick & Polis 1982; Corey 1988; Rubbo et al. 2001) marmoratus (15,9 mm; 0,4 g) on the leaf litter of the for- and are also frequently eaten by amphibians (Sas et al. 2007; Dietl, Engels & Solé 2009). However, in some cases they also act as predators of amphibians. Preda- tion on anurans has been recorded more frequently in the last decade (see reviews in Menin, Rodrigues & Azevedo 2005; Toledo 2005). In the Neotropical re- gion, most records on anuran predation are attributed to the spider families Pisauridae, Ctenidae, Lycosidae, Sparassidae, and Theraphosidae (Menin, Rodrigues & Azevedo 2005). 1 Laboratório Especial de Ecologia e Evolução, Instituto Butantan. Avenida Dr. Vital Brazil, 1500, 05503-900 São Paulo, SP, Brazil; e-mail RJS: [email protected] 2 Programa de Pós Graduação em Biologia Animal, Instituto de Biociências, Letras e Ciências Exatas, Universidade Estadu- al Paulista, Rua Cristóvão Colombo, 2265, 15054-000 São José do Rio Preto, SP, Brazil; e-mail FEB: [email protected]; e-mail FMC: [email protected] 3 Departamento de Zoologia, Programa de Pós Graduação em Ecologia, Instituto de Biologia, CP 6109, Universidade Figure 1. Predation of Leptodactylus marmoratus (voucher: Estadual de Campinas, UNICAMP, 13083-970, Campinas, ZUEC 15914) by the ctenid spider Ctenus medius observed in SP, Brazil. Parque Estadual Xixová-Japuí, municipality of São Vicente, e-mail MGR: [email protected] southeast Brazil. Upper, frog’s legs paralyzed; Lower, detail of the spider innoculating its chelicerae on frog’s dorsum. * corresponding author 100 Fausto E. Barbo et al. est floor. The predation was observed at 19:20 h beside References a trail in the secondary Atlantic Forest (23°59’19.55”S, Centeno, F. C. (2009): Diversidade e uso de ambiente pelos an- 46°22’57.15”W, ca. 68 m above sea level). The spider fíbios e répteis de São Sebastião, Ilhabela, SP. Unpublished jumped on the frog’s dorsum and readily sank its che- Master thesis. Universidade de São Paulo, Brazil. licerae into it (Figure 1). The frog tried to escape but its Corey, D. T. (1988): Comments on a wolf spider feeding on a legs were completely paralyzed, remaining motionless green anole lizard. J. Arachnol. 16: 391–392. for about five minutes and dying forthwith. Both preda- Dietl, J., Engels, W., Solé, M. (2009). Diet and feeding behaviour tor and prey were collected and deposited together in of the leaf-litter frog Ischnocnema henselii (Anura: Brachyce- phalidae) in Araucaria rain forests on the Serra Geral of Rio the collection of Museu de Zoologia da Universidade Grande do Sul, Brazil. J. Nat Hist. 43, (23-24): 1473-1483. Estadual de Campinas (voucher: ZUEC 15914). Some Duellman, W.E., Tueb, L. (1986): Biology of Amphibians. New records on Ctenus preying upon anurans of the genus York, McGraw-Hill. Leptodactylus are already available in the literature. In Gasnier, T. R .J. (1996): Ecologia comparada de quatro espécies the Amazonian region, Menin, Rodrigues & Azevedo de aranhas errantes do gênero Ctenus (Walckenaer) (Araneae, (2005) recorded about two ctenid species, Ctenus villas- Ctenidae) em uma floresta na Amazônia Central: bases para boasi and Ctenus sp. preying upon Leptodactylus andre- um modelo integrado de coexistência. Unpublished Doctoral thesis. Instituto Nacional de Pesquisas da Amazônia. ae. However, in the Atlantic Forest of southeast Brazil, McCormick, S., Polis, G. A. (1982): Arthropods that prey on ver- L. marmoratus is one of the most abundant species in tebrates. Biol. Rev. 57: 29–58. anuran assemblages (Sawaya 1999; Centeno 2009) and Menin, M., Rodrigues, D. J., Azevedo, C. S. (2005): Predation on also Ctenus spiders can reached high population den- amphibians by spiders (Arachnida, Araneae) in the Neotropi- sities (Gasnier 1996). Although this is the first record cal region. Phyllomedusa 4 (1): 39-47. of predation by C. medius upon L. marmoratus, such Pombal-Junior, J. P. (2007): Notas sobre predação em uma ta- interaction may occur frequently. Thus, spiders could be xocenose de anuros no sudeste do Brasil. Rev. Bras. Zool. 24 (3): 841-843. important predators of the abundant leaf litter dwelling Rubbo, M. J., Townsend,V. R. Jr., Smyers, S. D., Jaeger, R.G. species L. marmoratus, and further detailed studies are (2001): The potential for invertebrate – vertebrate intraguild needed in order to prove these suppositions. predation: the predatory relationship between wolf spiders (Gladicosa pulchra) and ground skinks (Scincella lateralis). Acknowledgement. We would like to thank A. Brescovit for Can. J. Zool. 79: 1465–1471. identification of the spider, Cléris and Eduardo from Parque Sas, I. Kovács, E., Covaciu-Marcov, S., Strugariu, A., Ramona, Estadual Xixová-Japuí for helping during the field work, C., Ferenti, S. (2007). Food habits of a Pool frog Pelophylax Alexandru Strugariu and two anonymous referees for valuable lessonae – Edible frog Pelophylax kl. esculentus population suggestions. Financial support was provided by Capes, CNPq, from North-Western Romania. Biota 8: 71-78. and FAPESP. Collecting permit was issued by IBAMA (process Sawaya, R. J. (1999): Diversidade, densidade e distribuição alti- number 2007/10423-1). tudinal da anurofauna de serapilheira da Ilha de São Sebastião, SP. Unpublished Master thesis, Universidade de São Paulo, Brazil. Toledo, L. F. (2005): Predation of juvenile and adult anurans by invertebrates: current knowledge and perspectives. Herpetol. Rev. 36 (4): 395-400. Accepted by Angelica Crottini; Managing Editor: Alexandru Strugariu.