WWW.IRCF.ORG/REPTILESANDAMPHIBIANSJOURNALTABLE OF CONTENTS IRCF REPTILES & AMPHIBIANS IRCF REPTILES • VOL15, &NO AMPHIBIANS 4 • DEC 2008 189 • 23(1):21–27 • APR 2016 IRCF REPTILES & AMPHIBIANS CONSERVATION AND NATURAL HISTORY TABLE OF CONTENTS FEATURE ARTICLES Cannibalism. Chasing Bullsnakes (Pituophis catenifer sayi) in Wisconsin: in Cuba: First Direct On the Road to Understanding the Ecology and Conservation of the Midwest’s Giant Serpent ...................... Joshua M. Kapfer 190 . The Shared History of Treeboas (Corallus grenadensis) and Humans on Grenada: ObservationsA Hypothetical Excursion ............................................................................................................................ of Cuban TreefrogsRobert W. Henderson 198 (OsteopilusRESEARCH ARTICLES septentrionalis, Hylidae) Feeding . The Texas Horned Lizard in Central and Western Texas ....................... Emily Henry, Jason Brewer, Krista Mougey, and Gad Perry 204 . The Knight Anole (Anolis equestris) in Florida on Conspecifics .............................................Brian J. Camposano, in Kenneth L.Their Krysko, Kevin M. Enge, NativeEllen M. Donlan, and Michael Habitat, Granatosky 212 CONSERVATION ALERT with. World’s a Mammals Brief in Crisis ............................................................................................................................................................. Review of Anurophagy 220and . More Than Mammals ...................................................................................................................................................................... 223 . The “Dow JonesCannibalism Index” of Biodiversity ........................................................................................................................................... in Treefrogs 225 HUSBANDRY 1,2 1 1 1 3 4 Hinrich Kaiser , McKenna. Captive Care C. of the Chamberlain Central Netted Dragon, Tessa ....................................................................................................... Edwards , Justin R. Nuñez , Tomás M. Rodríguez-Cabrera Shannon Plummer 226, and Javier Torres 1 PROFILEDepartment of Biology, Victor Valley College, Victorville, California 92395, USA ([email protected]) 2 Department. Kraig of Adler: Vertebrate A Lifetime Zoology, Promoting National Herpetology Museum ................................................................................................ of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, Michael L. Treglia DC 23420013, USA 3Jardín Botánico de Cienfuegos, Pepito Tey, CP 59290, Cienfuegos, Cuba COMMENTARY4Departamento de Biología Animal y Humana, Facultad de Biología, Universidad de la Habana, La Habana, Cuba . The Turtles Have Been Watching Me ........................................................................................................................ Eric Gangloff 238 BOOK REVIEW . Threatened Amphibians of the World edited by S.N. Stuart, M. Hoffmann, J.S. Chanson, N.A. Cox, he Cuban TreefrogR. ( Berridge,Osteopilus P. Ramani, septentrionalis and B.E. Young ..............................................................................................................) is a large representing 228 species, Robert40,238 Powell examined243 frog stomachs Thylid frog (maximum SVL to 165 mm) native to Cuba included 855 post-metamorphic frogs (2.1%) and 855 inci- (including Isla de laCONSERVATION Juventud), the RESEARCH Cayman REPORTS: Islands, Summaries and of Publisheddences Conservation of egg Research or larval Reports consumption, ................................. 245but that in relative terms some of the Bahamas NATURAL (Meshaka HISTORY 2001). RESEARCH It is a REPORTS very success: Summaries- of Published77 of Reports355 papers on Natural (22%)History ................................. reported frog-on-frog 247 predation. By NEWBRIEFS ...................................................................................................................................................................................... 248 ful colonizer, whose EDITORIAL ability to INFORMATION stow away as ..................................................................................................................................................... humans trans- this count, the authors concluded that 251 frog-on-frog predation port goods has allowed FOCUS it toON become CONSERVATION established: A Project in Youthe Can U.S. Support ...............................................................................................was not particularly unusual. Their 252analysis of the literature states of Florida, Georgia, and Hawaii (Oahu), as well as in further suggested that frogs in the family Hylidae exhibited many parts of the Caribbean, including Anguilla, Antigua, elevated levels of anurophagy (Measey et al. 2015: Fig. 1B), the British Virgin Islands (Tortola), Costa Rica (Puerto although no specific taxa were listed. However, reports of Front Cover. Shannon Plummer. Back Cover. Michael Kern Limón), the Netherlands Antilles (Curaçao,Totat et velleseque Saint audant Maarten, mo treefrog-on-treefrogTotat et velleseque audant mo predation have steadily accumulated Saba), Puerto Rico, the Turks andestibus Caicos inveliquo Islands velique rerchil (North overestibus the inveliquo years velique (e.g., rerchil Hypsiboas albomarginatus on Scinax lit- Caicos), the Grenadines (Mustique),erspienimus, and quosthe accullabo. U.S. Virgin Ilibus erspienimus,toralis, Centenoquos accullabo. et Ilibus al. 2010; Hypsiboas albomarginatus on aut dolor apicto invere pe dolum aut dolor apicto invere pe dolum Islands (Henderson and Breuil 2012;fugiatis Frost maionsequat 2015). eumque Because of Dendropsophusfugiatis maionsequat decipiens eumque , Figueiredo-de-Andrade et al. 2012; its wide distribution, abundance, andmoditia as an erere introduced nonsedis ma sectiatur pest in Hybsiboasmoditia erere nonsedis faber onma sectia Dendropsophus- meridianus, Figueiredo-de- ma derrovitae voluptam, as quos tur ma derrovitae voluptam, as Florida, the species’ ecology has beenaccullabo. studied quite well (e.g., Andrade et al. 2012; Hypsiboas faber on Scinax granulatus and Meshaka 2001). Nevertheless, its natural history in its native Aplastodiscus perviridis, Solé et al. 2004; Hypsiboas faber on habitat is not known as comprehensively. Thus, even limited Scinax aff. perereca, de Moura and Feio 2010; Osteopilus sep- observations are of interest. We here report on the first direct tentrionalis on Hyla cinerea, Johnson 2013). In the specific observations of cannibalism by O. septentrionalis in its native case of Florida populations of O. septentrionalis, Meshaka habitat in Cuba. (2001) and Meshaka and Mayer (2005) reported that 40 of the 427 (9.4%) Cuban Treefrogs they examined had con- Frog Eats Frog sumed anurans (41 of 1,104 prey items), whereas Glorioso et That adult frogs opportunistically prey on other frogs is al. (2012) reported anurophagy for 29 of 767 sampled indi- well known, and Toledo et al. (2007) reported that in their viduals (3.8%). study of frogs as prey of other vertebrates, 33 of 243 records (13.6%) were frogs eating frogs. Of the frog-eat-frog inci- Frog Eats Conspecific dents considered by Toledo et al. (2007), only one involved Cannibalism in frogs is also quite well known, and the cir- a hylid treefrog (Hypsiboas faber) as predator. More recently, cumstances for its occurrence among conspecific tadpoles or Measey et al. (2015) showed that in 355 literature records between tadpoles and conspecific eggs have been reported, Copyright © 2016. Hinrich Kaiser. All rights reserved. 21 KAISER ET AL. IRCF REPTILES & AMPHIBIANS • 23(1):21–27 • APR 2016 studied, and reviewed with some frequency (e.g., Ranitomeya Cuban Treefrog Cannibalism in Cuba ventrimaculata, Poelman and Dicke 2007; Hyla intermedia, In the following paragraphs we report on three cannibalistic Grant and Halliday 2011; Leptodactylus vastus, Silva et al. encounters between Cuban Treefrogs in their native habitat. 2005, Bahiense Guimarães et al. 2015; Peltophryne pelto- The first two are unsuccessful attempts by females to con- cephala, Rivalta et al. 2003; Spea bombifrons, Pfennig et al. sume conspecifics, including potential suitors during a time of 1993). Crump (1992) reported that cannibalism occurred in heightened breeding activity in the first encounter. The third a majority of anuran families (12 of 21 families, or 57%), episode concluded with an adult consuming a froglet. and the large data set of Measey et al. (2015) included 28 of Attempted cannibalism, female on male (Pinar del Río).— 355 records in which cannibalism was reported. Our focus During an evening survey on 29 May 2011 in the Sierra de on cannibalism in hylid frogs revealed only eight instances Guacamaya, Pinar del Río Province, Cuba (22.685491°N, (Acris crepitans, McCallum et al. 2001; Gastrotheca cornuta, 83.561904°W; datum WGS84, location specified via Google Gagliardo et al. 2010; Hyla cinerea, Höbel 2011; Hypsiboas Maps), we encountered a series of adult Cuban Treefrogs faber, Maffei et al. 2014; Osteopilus septentrionalis, Herman et involved in reproductive activity just before midnight. As we al. 2015, Königstedt and Königstedt 1982, Meshaka 1996a, canvassed the area, we noted that one female (sex determined 2001, Peters 1974, Wyatt and Forys 2004), of which four based on the individual’s size, color pattern and absence of (G. cornuta and O. septentrionalis in Peters 1974, Königstedt nuptial pads) was holding