Dendropsophus cf. brevifrons

Schiesari, Luis, Rossa-Feres, Denise De Cerqueira, Menin, Marcelo & Hödl, Walter, 2022, Tadpoles of Central Amazonia (Amphibia: Anura), Zootaxa 5223 (1), pp. 1-149 : 50-51

Dendropsophus cf. brevifrons

External morphology. Description based on four tadpoles between Stages 32 and 34 (CZPB-LA 202/459, 206/476). Total length 18.4 ± 2.6 mm (N = 4). Body elongate oval in dorsal view and triangular/depressed in lateral view ( Fig. 24A, B ). Snout rounded in dorsal and lateral views. Eyes medium-sized, positioned and directed laterally. Nostrils small, rounded, laterally positioned near to snout, with opening anterolaterally directed, without a projection on the marginal rim. Oral disc ( Fig. 24C ) anteroventral, non-emarginate; marginal papillae conical, uniseriate, with a dorsal gap. Submarginal papillae absent. LTRF 0/0; thick ridge present in the posterior labium. Jaw sheaths wide, both finely serrated; anterior jaw sheath arch-shaped, posterior jaw sheath U-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 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 shallow, convex and originating at the tail-body junction; ventral fin shallow and convex. Tail with flagellum.

Colour. In preservative body and caudal musculature dark brown; fins translucent with dark brown marks on the posterior third. Tadpoles of D. cf. brevifrons from Ecuador have body dark brown medially and pale brown laterally; venter and sides of the body dark brown with cream flecks; tail tan with dark brown mottling and a bright red streak on the dorsal fin; iris gray-bronze with a red ring around the pupil ( Duellman & Crump 1974).

Natural history Eggs were not observed in Central Amazonia. Clutches from Ecuador and Peru contain between 48 and 114 pigmented eggs ( Crump 1974; Duellman & Crump 1974; Ĥdl 1990). Eggs are deposited on the upper surfaces of leaves overhanging streamside ponds in terra-firme forests; tadpoles fall in the water upon hatching ( Lima et al. 2012). Tadpoles are nektonic. Tadpole color pattern is presumably disruptive. Tadpoles of D. cf. brevifrons are preyed upon by the crab Fredius (R. J. Pegorini, pers. comm.).

Comments. Tadpoles of D. brevifrons described as Hyla brevifrons from Ecuador by Duellman (1978) differ from those herein characterized by presenting eyes dorsolaterally directed, nostrils about midway between the tip of the snout and the eyes, and oral disc anterior ( Duellman 1978). The opening of the spiracle is just above midline in tadpoles from Ecuador ( Fig. 2B ; Duellman & Crump 1974). Tadpoles from Peru, characterized by Duellman (2005) and Wild (1992) differ from those herein characterized by presenting nostrils ovoid, spiracle opening just below the midline, dorsal fin originating on the proximal caudal musculature and posterior jaw sheath V-shaped.

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 24. Tadpole of Dendropsophus cf. brevifrons (CZPB 202/459) at Stage 32: (A) lateral view, (B) dorsal view (scale = 10 mm), and (C) oral disc (scale = 1 mm).