During both visits to Chinajá this large toad was breeding in a small
permanent pond in the camp. During the day the toads took refuge in
crevices beneath the buildings or beneath large boulders by the pond. At
dusk from four to ten males congregated at the pond and called. Tadpoles
of this species were in the pond in March and in July. One juvenile was
found beneath a rock in the forest, and another was on the forest floor
by day.
The natives' name for this species and the following one is _sapo_.
=Bufo valliceps valliceps= Wiegmann
Chinajá, 52; Río San Román, 8; Sayaxché, 2; Toocog, 1.
This is one of the most abundant, or at least conspicuous, amphibians
inhabiting the forest. Breeding congregations were found on February 24,
March 2, March 11, and June 27. At these times the toads were
congregated at temporary ponds in the forest or along small sluggish
streams. Throughout the duration of both visits to Chinajá individual
males called almost nightly at the permanent pond at the camp.
The variation in snout-vent length of 20 males selected at random is
56.7 to 72.5 mm. (average, 64.8 mm.). Two adult females have snout-vent
lengths of 80.4 and 87.6 mm. In all specimens the parotid glands are
somewhat elongated and not rounded as in _Bufo valliceps wilsoni_ (see
Baylor and Stuart, 1961:199). My observations on the condition of the
cranial crests of the toads in El Petén agree with the findings of
Baylor and Stuart (_op. cit._:198) in that hypertrophied crests are
usual in large females. In the shape of the parotids and nature of the
cranial crests the specimens from El Petén are like those from the
Isthmus of Tehuantepec in México. As I pointed out (1960:53), the
validity of the subspecies _Bufo valliceps macrocristatus_, described
from northern Chiapas by Firschein and Smith (1957:219) and supposedly
characterized by hypertrophied cranial crests, is highly doubtful.
In the toads from El Petén the greatest variation is in coloration. The
dorsal ground-color varies from orange and rusty tan to brown, yellowish
tan, and pale gray. In some individuals the flanks and dorsum are one
continuous color, whereas in others a distinct dorsolateral pale colored
band separates the dorsal color from dark brown flanks. In some
individuals the venter is uniform cream color, in others it bears a few
scattered black spots, and in still others there are many spots, some of
which are fused to form a black blotch on the chest. In breeding males
the vocal sac is orange tan. All specimens have a coppery red iris.
Aside from the breeding congregations, active toads were found on the
forest floor at night; a few were there by day. Some individuals were
beneath logs during the day.
=Eleutherodactylus rostralis= (Werner)
Chinajá, 10.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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