Abstract

ZARACHO, Víctor Hugo; ACOSTA, José Luis  and  LAMAS, Matías Fernando. Diet and parasitism of Leptodactylus diptyx (Anura: Leptodactylidae) from Northeastern Argentina. Rev. Mex. Biodiv. [online]. 2012, vol.83, n.4, pp.1180-1186. ISSN 2007-8706.  https://doi.org/10.7550/rmb.28251.

The natural history of the Leptodactylus marmoratus species group is poorly known, and there is scarce available information mainly referred to aspects of the reproductive biology. The objective of this study was to contribute to the knowledge of the trophic biology and of the parasitism of Leptodactylus diptyx populations from Northeastern Argentina. The stomach and intestine contents of 22 adult individuals were analyzed for the trophic study, while the alimentary canal and body cavity of 40 individuals were examined for parasites. The diet consisted of 17 different prey items, including mainly Formicidae hymenopterans, collembolans, coleopterans, and spiders. The values of prey diversity calculated by Shannon's index (H') and niche amplitude by Levins's index were 2.06 and 4.29, respectively. The 57.5% of the examined individuals were parasitized by nematodes and acanthocephalans. Leptodactylus diptyx is a new host for Cosmocerca sp. and Aplectana sp. nematodes.

Keywords : Anura; Leptodactylidae; Leptodactylus; marmoratus group; feeding; parasites; natural history.

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