DISTRIBUTION, DIET, AND VOCALIZATIONS OF THE ENDANGERED COLOMBIAN TOAD OSORNOPHRYNE PERCRASSA (ANURA, BUFONIDAE)

Abstract

Herein, we describe the distribution, call, diet, and niche model of Osornophryne percrassa. This species has been recorded at 23 locations of Colombia, 14 of which are reported in this work. In addition, we reported the first record for the Department of Valle del Cauca, southern Colombia. Based on the points of occurrence, we estimated the potential geographic distribution of this species through the maximum entropy algorithm, and the model prediction showed a good performance. The model shows that The Cordillera Central provides the higher habitat availability for the species occurrence, with no geographical barriers that hinder the spread of the species. We analyzed the stomach contents of 14 females. We identified 73 Arthropoda prey and nine Nematoda prey. Coleopterans and isopods were numerically and volumetrically the more important prey, respectively. We found a positive and significant correlation between snout-vent length (SVL) and head width (HW). Our data indicate that the species is a generalist/opportunistic feeder with a sit-and-wait strategy for obtaining prey. We described the vocal repertoire (advertisement and courtship calls) based on 23 advertisement calls and 11 courtship calls from a male. The advertisement call consists of 8–10 Peep notes whereas the courtship call consists of 6–9 Peep notes. The advertisement calls of O. guacamayo were similar in temporal and structural characteristics to those of O. percrassa. This is the first description of the courtship calls not only for O. percrassa but also for the genus.