Tadpoles of Central Amazonia (Amphibia: Anura)
Author
Schiesari, Luis
0000-0003-0814-591X
lschiesa@usp.br
Author
Rossa-Feres, Denise De Cerqueira
0000-0002-4537-9064
denise.rossa-feres@unesp.br
Author
Menin, Marcelo
0000-0002-7209-5083
Author
Hödl, Walter
0000-0003-0814-591X
lschiesa@usp.br
text
Zootaxa
2022
2022-12-28
5223
1
1
149
http://dx.doi.org/10.11646/zootaxa.5223.1.1
journal article
222436
10.11646/zootaxa.5223.1.1
f19c5754-1a7b-4f9e-bdd8-70cc4bf3d1e4
1175-5326
7517957
2AF3B77E-408A-4104-A058-108101993EBC
Atelopus manauensis
External morphology.
Description based on two tadpoles at Stages 34 and 37 (LCS 611, 646). Total length
11.9 mm
(Stage 34) and
13.9 mm
(Stage 37). Body oval in dorsal view and globular/depressed in lateral view (
Fig. 8A, B
). Snout rounded in dorsal view and truncate in lateral view. Eyes small, dorsally positioned and laterally directed. Nostrils small, oval, dorsally positioned closer to eyes than to snout, anterolaterally directed, without projection on the marginal rim. Oral disc (
Fig. 8C, D
) ventrally positioned and directed, almost as wide as maximum body width, non-emarginate, marginal papillae conical with flat apexes, uniseriate, continuous on anterior labium and with a wide ventral gap representing 80% of posterior labium. Submarginal papillae absent. LTRF 2/3; A1 and A2 of the same length; P1, P2 and P3 of the same length. Jaw sheats not serrated; anterior jaw sheath narrow, archshaped, posterior jaw sheath moderately wide, U-shaped. The oral disc is followed by a large and very distinctive abdominal disc, rectangular-shaped, that occupies about 1/2 to 2/3 of the venter (
Fig. 8C
). Spiracle single, sinistral, conical, short and wide, posterodorsally directed, opening in the medial third of the body, with the centripetal wall not fused to the body wall and longer than the external wall. Vent tube medial, fused to the ventral fin, with a medial opening. Caudal musculature of moderate width; in lateral view, tapering abruptly and not reaching the rounded tip of tail. Dorsal fin of moderate height, convex and originating on the anterior third of the tail; ventral fin of moderate height and parallel to the ventral margin of caudal musculature. Tail tip rounded.
Colour.
In preservative, body and caudal musculature brown, with dark brown large spots on dorsum, flanks and caudal musculature; fins translucent. In life, tadpole grayish brown with creamy white large spots; dorsum coppery brown; tail fins translucent.
Natural history.
Eggs
not observed in
Central Amazonia. Eggs
of related
A. spumarius
from
Ecuador
are moderately large, unpigmented, and laid in water in small jelly strings (
Duellman & Lynch 1969
).
Tadpoles in Central Amazonia
are found in fast-flowing terra-firme forest streams,
1.5 to 4 m
wide and up to
1 m
deep, with a substratum consisting of sand, gravel, stones and leaf-litter. Tadpoles are benthic and adhere to the substratum by means of the abdominal disc.
Comments.
Tadpoles from Central Amazonia were described as
Atelopus pulcher
by
Gascon (1989a)
. They differ from those herein characterized by presenting eyes anteriorly directed, spiracle posteriorly directed (according to
Fig. 1
, pg. 236), caudal musculature extending until the tail tip, and abdominal disc semicircular in shape.
FIGURE 8.
Tadpole of
Atelopus manauensis
(LCS 611) at Stage 37: (A) lateral view, (B) dorsal view, (C) ventral view (scale = 10 mm), and (D) oral disc (scale = 1 mm).
Genus
Rhinella
.
Tadpoles of genus
Rhinella
found in Central Amazonia share the following combination of morphological characteristics: body oval in dorsal view and depressed in lateral view; body length equals one half of the total length; tail tip rounded; oral disc anteroventrally positioned and directed, emarginate, with one row of marginal papillae except for very wide dorsal and ventral gaps; LTRF 2(2)/3.