Neotropical Hylid Frogs, Genus SmiliscaDuellman, William Edward
Science
Neotropical Hylid Frogs, Genus Smilisca
Duellman, William Edward
Amphibians -- Central America; Frogs; Smilisca
The breeding call of _Smilisca baudini_ consists of a series of short
explosive notes. Each note has a duration of 0.09 to 0.13 seconds; two
to 15 notes make up a call group. Individual call groups are spaced from
about 15 seconds to several minutes apart. The notes are moderately
high-pitched and resemble "wonk-wonk-wonk." Little vibration is
discernible in the notes, which have 140 to 195 pulses per second and a
dominant frequency of 2400 to 2725 cycles per second (Pl. 10A).
The eggs are laid as a surface film on the water in temporary pools. The
only membrane enclosing the individual eggs is the vitelline membrane.
In ten eggs (KU 62154 from San Salvador, El Salvador) the average
diameter of the embryos in first cleavage is 1.3 mm. and of the
vitelline membranes, 1.5 mm. Hatchling tadpoles have body lengths of 2.6
to 2.7 mm. and total lengths of 5.1 to 5.4 mm. The body and caudal
musculature is brown; the fins are densely flecked with brown. The gills
are long and filamentous. Growth and development of tadpoles are
summarized in Table 9.
A typical tadpole in stage 30 of development (KU 60018 from Chinaja,
Alta Verapaz, Guatemala) has a body length of 8.7 mm., a tail length of
13.6 mm., and a total length of 22.3 mm.; body slightly wider than deep;
snout rounded dorsally and laterally; eyes widely separated, directed
dorsolaterally; nostril about midway between eye and tip of snout; mouth
anteroventral; spiracle sinistral, located about midway on length of
body and slightly below midline; anal tube dextral; caudal musculature
slender, slightly curved upward distally; dorsal fin extending onto
body, deepest at about one-third length of tail; depth of dorsal fin
slightly more than that of ventral fin at mid-length of tail; dorsal
part of body dark brown; pale crescent-shaped mark on posterior part of
body; ventral surfaces transparent with scattered brown pigment
ventrolaterally, especially below eye; caudal musculature pale tan with
a dark brown longitudinal streak on middle of anterior one-third of
tail; dorsum of anterior one-third of tail dark brown; brown flecks and
blotches on rest of caudal musculature, on all of dorsal fin, and on
posterior two-thirds of ventral fin; iris bronze in life (Fig. 11).
Mouth small; median third of upper lip bare; rest of mouth bordered by
two rows of conical papillae; lateral fold present; tooth rows 2/3; two
upper rows about equal in length; second row broadly interrupted
medially, three lower rows complete, first and second equal in length,
slightly shorter than upper rows; third lower row shortest; first upper
row sharply curved anteriorly in midline; upper beak moderately deep,
forming a board arch with slender lateral processes; lower beak more
slender, broadly V-shaped; both beaks bearing blunt serrations
(Fig. 15A).
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account