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Family: Craugastoridae
Bransford's Litter Frog, more...Bransford's Litter Frog, Bransford's Robber Frog, Bransfords Robber Frog, Bransfords Robber Frog (es: Coqui, Coqui, Ranita, Ranita, Sapito, Sapito)
[Eleutherodactylus bransfordii Cope, 1886] |
Adult: Species description based on Savage and Emerson (1970) and Savage 2002. Small dirt frog, males to 23 mm, females to 26-27.5 mm. Dorsal: The base dorsal coloration is brown to light brown or gray with or without darker mottling. Dorsal patterning is extremely variable. Some individuals have parallel light lines along the dorsolateral ridges or a single median light stripe. The area near the top of the shoulderblades is lighter in color and/or a dark patch is present on the rear. A dark bar or hourglass shape may be present on top of the head between the eyes. The top portion of the tympanum is usually rimmed in a darker shade, and the lip line typically has an alternating pattern of white and dark coloration. Excellent descriptions and illustrations of dorsal pattern variation may be found in Savage and Emerson (1970). The skin on the dorsum ranges from smooth to warty and may or may not have variable ridges. Ventral: The ventral surface is pale yellow, without any darker pigmentation. Concealed surfaces: The upper surface of the thigh has dark bars on a reddish-brown background; the groin and rear of the thighs are also usually reddish in color. Distinguishing characteristics: Males do not have vocal sacs. Extremities: Hands and feet have very prominent tubercules projecting from them. The feet are not webbed. Breeding season: Breeding occurs throughout the year, although the intensity of breeding activity may vary (Donnelly 1999, Savage 2002). A single female likely produces multiple clutches each year (Donnelly 1983). Males call from under leaves during the day (Savage and Emerson 1970), but courtship and mating occurs in the leaf litter at night (Scott 1983). Egg: Clutches of on average 6.3 eggs are laid (Donnelly 1999). Larger females tend to have larger clutches of eggs (Donnelly 1999). Tadpole: Craugastor bransfordii undergoes direct development, so there is no tadpole stage (Savage 2002). Metamorph juvenile: Juveniles 4 mm in length were found by Donnelly (1999). Reproductive maturity occurs when females are 20-22 mm in length and males are 17 mm (Donnelly 1999). Habitat: Lowland and premontane forest to 2000 m. Ecology: Craugastor bransfordii is active during the day (Savage 2002). It is often extremely abundant and can be easily encountered in the leaf litter (Lieberman 1976, Scott 1983). Savage and Emerson (1970) postulated that the variable dorsal pattern coloration of this species provide cryptic coloration, helping them to blend in with the leaf litter. Call: A chirp (Savage 2002). Behavior and communication: In response to disturbance, this species typically takes two or three hops and then dives under the leaf litter (Savage and Emerson 1970). Karyotype: 2N = 18 (Chen 2005) Type locality: Nicaragua Diet: Juveniles and adults are generalists and consume a wide variety of invertebrates, including mites, isopods, and centipedes (Whitfield and Donnelly 2006, Lieberman 1976, Limerick 1976). Prey items change in size and composition as these frogs grow (Whitfield and Donnelly 2006). Diagnostic description: The legs lacking webbing. L finger of the hand is longer than the ll, l or ll have a similar size. The fingers of the hands and feet usually lack well-defined disks. The hands and feet lack well-defined discs, digital discs is visible even under magnification. The back is not uniformly granular or obscure, and paired red stripes. L-ll The fingers of the hand are of similar length. Lack cranial crests. They have a weak tarsal fold or tubercle. The head is narrow and measures between 30 and 43% of standard length. The groin and ventral surface lacking spots, and is often red in live specimens. The hand has subarticular, palmar and thenar tubercles rather high. Palmar tubercles are well developed accessories. Last subarticular tubercles on fingers III-IV are pointed and sharp. It has many sharp plantar tubercles. The heel is rugged and has a number of similarly sized warts. The bottom surface of the tarsal segment is roughened to verrucose. Adult males have bearings wedding thumbs, but lack vocal slits. The maximum standard length in males is 26 mm. and females 30 mm. Habitat: Lives in the forest floor of wetlands (very humid tropical forest) in gallery forests (tropical dry forest) and cacao. It is the most common amphibian in forest litter where it is. Reproduction: Females lay eggs in moist soil. Embryos undergo tadpole stage within the egg and emerge as small frogs. Feeding: Feeding arthropods. 39% of its food consists of ants, termites and others; 35%, in beetles, spiders and insect larvae Homoptera. Springtails are common in the topsoil, although these amphibians consume infrequently. Behavior: Apparently foraging during the day but at night mate. Distribution in Costa Rica: In the lowlands north and center of the Atlantic slope, between 60 and 880 m. Lift (Savage 2002). Distribution outside Costa Rica: They are from the east end of Honduras to eastern Panama, from sea level to 1600 m. It is located on the Pacific slope only in the central part of Panama. Bocas Species Database Habitat: Vive en el suelo de los bosques de zonas húmedas (bosque tropical muy húmedo), en los bosques de galería (bosque tropical seco) y cacaotales. Es el anfibio más común en el mantillo del bosque donde se encuentra . Distribution: Islas Popa y Colon |
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