Herpetology Notes, volume 12: 265-267 (2019) (published online on 07 February 2019) Predation of Scinax garbei (Miranda-Ribeiro, 1926) (Anura: Hylidae) by the wandering spider Ctenus villasboasi Mello-Leitão, 1949 (Araneae: Ctenidae) in southeastern Peru Cinthya Y. Salas1,*, Lesly Lujan2, and Oscar Quispe-Colca1 Amphibians play a major role inside the trophic and nocturnal treefrog (Lima et al., 2012). Its diet networks as both predators and prey (Whiles et al., includes orthopterans, spiders, Diptera and Coleoptera 2006). Amphibians are prey for a great variety of larvae (Duellman, 1978). Here, we present the first predators, from carnivorous plants (Duellman and report of predation on Scinax garbei by the wandering Trueb, 1994) to several vertebrates (Castro and Costa, spider Ctenus villasboasi (Ctenidae). In addition, with 2017) and invertebrates such as arachnids (Menin et al., our study, the occurrence of C. villasboasi is officially 2005; Toledo, 2005; Maffei et al., 2014; Amaral et al., recorded from Peru (World Spider Catalog, 2018). 2015). On September 23, 2017, while searching for frogs The Ctenidae are arachnids distributed around the on the leaf litter, we observed an adult female Ctenus world, except in New Zealand. They are large nocturnal villasboasi eating an individual of Scinax garbei. The wandering spiders that hunt their prey on the vegetation spider bit the frog and paralyzed it. or at the soil level (Jocqué and Dippenaar-Schoeman, The place of the observation was near Chocoriari 2006). This family consists of important predators of village, in the Echarate district, La Convencion province, terrestrial frogs, feeding primarily on juveniles and Cusco department, in southeast Peru (11°57’35.69”S; adults engaged in reproductive activity (Menin et al., 72°56’37.56”O; 404 m a.s.l.). The spider was collected 2005). There are reports of Ctenus villasboasi and Ctenus and deposited in the scientific collection of the Museum sp. attacking Adenomera andreae (Menin et al., 2005); of San Agustin National University (Ctenus villasboasi predation of Adenomera marmorata by Ctenus medius MUSA-AR 102). Although the amphibian was (Barbo et al., 2009) and by Ctenus ornatus (Amaral taxonomically determined, it could not be preserved et al., 2015); and Phoneutria nigriventer preying on due to its advanced stage of decomposition caused by Dendropsophus elegans, Hypsiboas bischoffi and the spider venom. Scinax crospedospilus (Santana et al., 2009; Oliveira et Only the spider was measured in situ (cephalothorax al., 2016; Foerster et al., 2017). 12.8 mm; abdomen 11.3 mm; total length 24.1 mm). Scinax garbei inhabits tropical, flooded and even However, Figure 1 allowed us to estimate the snout- secondary forests (La Marca et al., 2004). It is an arboreal vent length of the frog (~33.2 mm), approximately 1.4 times larger than the spider. Predators that are smaller than their preys are commonly reported to make use of specialized tactics such as poisoning (Toledo et al. 2007), as we observed in this case. Little is known about the predators of Scinax garbei. Only Rocha et al. (2015) 1 Universidad Nacional de San Agustín de Arequipa, Museo de reported Scinax cf. garbei as an item in the diet of the Historia Natural (MUSA), Av. Alcides Carrión s/n. Arequipa, bat Thrachops cirropsus in Brazilian Central Amazon. Perú. 2 Centro de Ornitología y Biodiversidad (CORBIDI), Surco, Here, we provided the first account of predation of S. Lima, Perú. garbei by an invertebrate, adding knowledge about the * Corresponding author. E-mail: [email protected] biology of this neotropical anuran. 266 Cinthya Y. Salas et al. Acknowledgments. We are grateful to Cesar Aguilar for review La Marca, E., Azevedo-Ramos, C., Coloma, L.A., Ron, S. (2004): and suggestions and to Diana Silva-Dávila for her comments Scinax garbei. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species on the manuscript. We thank COGA and Insideo SAC. for the 2004: e.T55959A11384514. http://dx.doi.org/10.2305/IUCN. logistical support and the facilities for publishing this note. UK.2004.RLTS.T55959A11384514.en. Lima, A.P., Magnusson, W.E., Menin, M., Erdtmann, L.K., Rodrigues, D.J., Keller, C., Hödl W. (2012): Guia de sapos da References Reserva Adolpho Ducke, Amazônia Central. 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