Boana calcarata (Troschel, 1848)

Schiesari, Luis, Rossa-Feres, Denise De Cerqueira, Menin, Marcelo & Hödl, Walter, 2022, Tadpoles of Central Amazonia (Amphibia: Anura), Zootaxa 5223 (1), pp. 1-149 : 40

Boana calcarata

External morphology. Description based on three tadpoles at Stages 35 and 36 (CZPB-LA 187/416, 234/539). Total length 30.0 ± 2.0 mm (N = 3). Body elongate oval in dorsal view and globular/depressed in lateral view ( Fig. 16A, B ). Snout rounded in dorsal and lateral views. Eyes medium-sized, positioned and directed dorsolaterally. Nostrils small, oval, dorsolaterally positioned, near to eyes, with opening dorsolaterally directed, with a small projection on the marginal rim. Oral disc ( Fig. 16C ) anteroventral, laterally emarginate; marginal papillae conical, uniseriate, with a dorsal gap. Submarginal papillae absent. LTRF 2(2)/3; A1 and A2 of the same length; P3 slightly smaller than P2. Jaw sheaths moderately wide, finely serrated; anterior jaw sheath arch-shaped, posterior jaw sheath V-shaped. Spiracle single, sinistral, conical, short and wide, posterodorsally directed, opening in the medial third of the body, with the centripetal wall fused to the body wall and longer than the external wall. Vent tube medial, 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, originating at the tail-body junction, convex; ventral fin shallow, parallel to the ventral margin of caudal musculature. Tail tip pointed.

Colour. In preservative dorsum and caudal musculature light brown; venter and fins translucent; vertical brown marks on the caudal musculature and fins. Tadpoles of B. calcarata from Peru have a dark brown dorsum with faint tan mottling and a tan interorbital bar; tail yellowish tan with vertical brown bars ( Duellman 2005).

Natural history. Eggs not observed in Central Amazonia. Clutches of B. calcarata from Ecuador contain from 1,060 to 1,250 pigmented eggs deposited as a surface film ( Duellman 1978, 2005); tadpoles in streamside ponds in terra-firme forests.

Comments. Tadpole accounts presented by Wild (1992) from Peru differ from those herein characterized by presenting few submarginal papillae laterally at oral disc. Tadpoles from Ecuador described by Duellman (1978) and from Peru by Duellman (2005) differ from those herein characterized by presenting body ovoid in dorsal view, spiracle long and free from body, and jaw sheaths slender.

Figures

FIGURE 16. Tadpole of Boana calcarata (CZPB 187/416) at Stage 36: (A) lateral view, (B) dorsal view (scale = 10 mm), and (C) oral disc (scale = 1 mm).