PHYLLOMEDUSA VENUSTA (Lovely Leaf Frog). DIET.

BLANCO TORRES, A.; DURÉ, M. I.; BONILLA, M. A.

HERPETOLOGICAL REVIEW

Society for the Study of Amphibians and Reptiles

Año: 2017 vol. 48 p. 610 - 611

0018-084X

Phyllomedusa venusta is an arboreal frog found in northern Colombia, thevalley of Magdalena, the Darién on both sides of the Colombia-Panamá border, and western Venezuela. The species is common,but populations are decreasing due to deforestation by agriculturaland livestock activities, illegal plantations, human establishments,and use of agrochemicals  The food habitsand many other aspects of its biology and ecology are unknown.Herein we describe the diet of P. venusta in the dry tropicalforest of Colombia at three sites: 1) The Natural Reserve of CivilSociety Campoalegre, Municipality Los Cordobas, Departmentof Cordoba (8.48502°N, 76.19520°W, WGS84; elev. 120 m); 2)Finca Los Mameyales, Municipality Piojó, Department of Atlántico(10.74480°N, 75.09279°W, WGS84; elev. 206 m); 3) Las Deliciasfarm, Municipality Aracataca, Department of Magdalena(10.58694°N, 74.14224°W, WGS84; elev. 197 m).We examined 28 stomachs of P. venusta collected during0800?1200 h and 1600?1800 h within forests and disturbed areas.Samples were obtained during 2007 in the dry season (January?March), first rains (April?June), and heavy rains (September?December). SVL (mm), and maximum mouth width (mm)were recorded for each individual. We identified prey to lowesttaxonomic level possible (family and genus), and their lengthand width were measured (complete prey only) using a digitalcaliper (nearest 0.1 mm). The individual volume of each preyitem and the number of prey items per stomach for each preycategory were recorded. The diet consisted of 16 types of prey and was dominatedin volume and frequency by orthopterans. Acarina showed thehighest numerical contribution  The large numbers of orthopterans and blattariansconsumed are congruent with that reported for other Phyllomedusaspp. Considering the type and prey proportion, P. venusta appears to be a generalist predator with a  sit-and-wait foraging strategy.