Boana fasciata (Gunther, 1858)

Schiesari, Luis, Rossa-Feres, Denise De Cerqueira, Menin, Marcelo & Hödl, Walter, 2022, Tadpoles of Central Amazonia (Amphibia: Anura), Zootaxa 5223 (1), pp. 1-149 : 43-44

Boana fasciata

External morphology. Description based on ten tadpoles at Stage 35 (CZPB-LA 199/448, 200/454, 205/469, 211/487, 213,493, 215/497). Total length 34.4 ± 2.6 mm (N = 10). Body elongate ovoid in dorsal view and globular/depressed in lateral view ( Fig. 18A, B ). Snout rounded in dorsal and lateral views. Eyes medium-sized, dorsally positioned and laterally directed. Nostrils medium-sized, oval, dorsally positioned, near to eyes, with opening dorsolaterally directed, with a large projection on marginal rim. Oral disc ( Fig. 18C ) anteroventral, ventrolaterally and ventrally emarginate; marginal papillae elongate, uniseriate, with a dorsal and ventral gaps. Submarginal papillae absent. LTRF 2(1,2)/4(1); A1 and A2 of the same length; P2 slightly longer than P1 and P3; P4 fragmented on the medial and lateral portions of the labium. Jaw sheaths moderately wide, finely serrated; anterior jaw sheath archshaped, the posterior jaw sheath V-shaped. Spiracle single, sinistral, cylindrical, long and wide, posteriorly directed, opening in the posterior third of the body, with the centripetal wall free and of the same length as the external wall. Vent tube dextral, fused to the ventral fin, with a dextral opening. Caudal musculature of moderate width; in lateral view gradually tapering to a pointed tip. Dorsal fin of moderate height and convex, originating at the tail-body junction; ventral fin shallow, slightly convex. Tail tip pointed. Lateral line visible.

Colour. In preservative body light brown with small dots on the dorsum; caudal musculature light brown with creamy white marks; fins translucent with dark brown marks. Tadpoles of B. fasciata from Peru have dorsum and sides of the body greenish gray, with a dark brown stripe extending from the dorsolateral edge of the oral disc to the orbit; anterior part of the venter dark brown and posterior part pale tan; caudal musculature and fins pale yellow with distinct, irregular, vertical black marks; iris pale yellow ( Duellman 2005).

Natural history. Eggs were not observed in Central Amazonia. Gravid females of B. fasciata from Peru contain from 650 to 1,510 pigmented ovarian eggs ( Aichinger 1992; Duellman 2005). Eggs are deposited as a surface film on the water ( Duellman 2005). Tadpoles found in streamside ponds in terra-firme forests and in várzea floodplains.

Comments. Tadpoles from Peru were described by Wild (1992) and by Duellman (2005). They differ from those herein characterized by presenting eyes positioned and directed dorsolaterally, ventral fin parallel to the longitudinal axis of the tail, oral disc not emarginate (although Fig. 2 shows an oral disc ventrally emarginate; Wild 1992), with or without a narrow medial gap on posterior labium, submarginal papillae usually on posterior labium and scattered laterally, sometimes forming a broken row; LTRF 2(1-2)/3[1] in tadpoles characterized by Wild (1992) and 2(2)/ 3 in those characterized by Duellman (2005). However, it is important to consider that Wild (1992) commented about some variation in LTRF, with could present an incomplete P4.

Figures

FIGURE 2. Walter-Lieth climate diagram of Manaus representing mean monthly temperature (red line, left axis) and precipitation (blue line, right axis) from 1961 to 1990. Data from INMET, Instituto Nacional de Meteorologia (http://www.inmet.gov. br/portal/index.php?r=clima/graficosClimaticos, accessed October 4, 2015)

FIGURE 18. Tadpole of Boana fasciata (CZPB 199/448) at Stage 35: (A) lateral view, (B) dorsal view (scale = 10 mm), and (C) oral disc (scale = 1 mm).