Notes on diet composition and reproduction of Chiasmocleis hudsoni (Anura: Microhylidae: Gastrophryninae) from eastern Brazilian Amazonia

Abstract

Chiasmocleis hudsoni is a small fossorial anuran widely distributed in the Amazon basin. Due to its fossorial habit and explosive breeding pattern, individuals are rarely found, and data on the natural history of this species are scarce. Here we provide data on the diet composition and reproductive aspects of C. hudsoni from eastern Brazilian Amazonia. We found 20 prey categories within eight orders in the stomachs of 106 specimens of C. hudsoni. The index of relative importance showed that Formicidae (48.3%) was the most represented prey category in the diet. Oocytes ranged from 202 to 297 per female (n = 4, mean = 250, SD = 67.2), with a diameter varying from 0.9 to 1.3 mm (n = 4, mean = 1.1 mm, SD = 0.1 mm). Similar to other Chiasmocleis species, mites were a large fraction of the diet of C. hudsoni in eastern Amazonia, which differs from most leaf-litter dwelling anurans that do not prey on large amounts of mites. The explosive breeding pattern found in Microhylidae frogs is likely to be observed in C. hudsoni and the size fecundity relationship may be related to the process of sexual size dimorphism observed. ©NWJZ, Oradea, Romania, 2021