''Pseudis bolbodactyla'' is a species of

frog A frog is any member of a diverse and largely carnivorous group of short-bodied, tailless amphibians composing the order Anura (ανοὐρά, literally ''without tail'' in Ancient Greek). The oldest fossil "proto-frog" ''Triadobatrachus'' is ...

in the family

Hylidae Hylidae is a wide-ranging family of frogs commonly referred to as "tree frogs and their allies". However, the hylids include a diversity of frog species, many of which do not live in trees, but are terrestrial or semiaquatic. Taxonomy and ...

. It is

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found else ...

to southern

Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...

and occurs in

Minas Gerais Minas Gerais () is a state in Southeastern Brazil. It ranks as the second most populous, the third by gross domestic product (GDP), and the fourth largest by area in the country. The state's capital and largest city, Belo Horizonte (literally ...

, southern

Goiás Goiás () is a Brazilian state located in the Center-West region. Goiás borders the Federal District and the states of (from north clockwise) Tocantins, Bahia, Minas Gerais, Mato Grosso do Sul and Mato Grosso. The state capital is Goi ...

, southern

Bahia Bahia ( , , ; meaning "bay") is one of the 26 states of Brazil, located in the Northeast Region of the country. It is the fourth-largest Brazilian state by population (after São Paulo, Minas Gerais, and Rio de Janeiro) and the 5th-largest b ...

, and northern

Espírito Santo Espírito Santo (, , ; ) is a state in southeastern Brazil. Its capital is Vitória, and its largest city is Serra. With an extensive coastline, the state hosts some of the country's main ports, and its beaches are significant tourist attra ...

states. Although it is currently considered a valid species, it has also been treated as a subspecies of ''

Pseudis paradoxa ''Pseudis paradoxa'', known as the paradoxical frog or shrinking frog, is a species of hylid frog from South America. Its name refers to the very large—up to long—tadpole (the world's longest), which in turn "shrinks" during metamorphosi ...

''.

Description

Adult males measure and adult females in snout–vent length. The overall appearance is robust. The head is about as wide as it is long and the snout is rounded. The tympanum is distinct, elliptical in shape. The eyes are big. The toes are fully webbed. Skin is dorsally rugose with many tiny tubercles. Preserved specimens are dorsally brown, with darker markings that may be interconnected but do not form any regular pattern. A Gosner stage 39

tadpole A tadpole is the larval stage in the biological life cycle of an amphibian. Most tadpoles are fully aquatic, though some species of amphibians have tadpoles that are terrestrial. Tadpoles have some fish-like features that may not be found ...

measures in total length, of which the body makes ; the tail is thick and .

Habitat and ecology

This almost purely aquatic species occurs in lakes, ponds and other bodies of water in

Cerrado The ''Cerrado'' (, ) is a vast ecoregion of tropical savanna in eastern Brazil, particularly in the states of Goiás, Mato Grosso do Sul, Mato Grosso, Tocantins, Minas Gerais, and the Federal District. The core areas of the Cerrado biome are the ...

and

Caatinga Caatinga (, ) is a type of semi-arid tropical vegetation, and an ecoregion characterized by this vegetation in interior northeastern Brazil. The name "Caatinga" is a Tupi word meaning "white forest" or "white vegetation" (''caa'' = forest, v ...

savanna A savanna or savannah is a mixed woodland- grassland (i.e. grassy woodland) ecosystem characterised by the trees being sufficiently widely spaced so that the canopy does not close. The open canopy allows sufficient light to reach the ground to ...

at elevations below . One study suggests that it only occurs in ponds with aquatic vegetation. It is often found floating at the water surface, anchored motionless to the leaves of aquatic plants, with only the eyes, nostrils, and tympanum out of the water. It appears to use both visual and sensory clues to detect threats, to which it responds by diving. Breeding takes place in water. ''Pseudis bolbodactyla'' is active both day and night. A study from Goiás found diet consisting primarily of insects, with a minor contribution of arachnids. The majority of the diet were diurnal insects associated with vegetation. Aquatic insects made a small contribution, and then as winged adults only. ''Pseudis bolbodactyla'' appears to be an opportunistic

sit-and-wait predator Ambush predators or sit-and-wait predators are carnivorous animals that capture or trap prey via stealth, luring or by (typically instinctive) strategies utilizing an element of surprise. Unlike pursuit predators, who chase to capture prey ...

Conservation

''Pseudis bolbodactyla'' is a common species that can suffer from

overgrazing Overgrazing occurs when plants are exposed to intensive grazing for extended periods of time, or without sufficient recovery periods. It can be caused by either livestock in poorly managed agricultural applications, game reserves, or nature res ...

by domestic livestock, infrastructure development (including dams), and water pollution from agriculture. It is present in some protected areas.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q853548 bolbodactyla Amphibians of Brazil Endemic fauna of Brazil Amphibians described in 1925 Taxa named by Adolfo Lutz Taxonomy articles created by Polbot