Insect attacks on Amphibians (Sri Lanka)

7/30/2019 Insect attacks on Amphibians (Sri Lanka)

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rEd patCh infECtion in thE sKippEr froG of sri lanKa

Continued from previous page

survey, we observed a conspicu-ous red patch externally abovethe prominent eye balls o Eu-

phlyctis cyanophlyctis(Schneider,1799) (Skipper rog = English;Utpatana mdiya = Sinhala). It

was present in both sexes (Figure1). wo rogs that had this con-dition died, however, the redpatch inection was highly vis-ible even in the dead specimens(Figure 2).

Laboratory investigationsTese rogs were investi-gated in the veterinary pa-thology laboratory. issuesamples including the redpatch collected orm the

aected rogs were xed in10% ormol saline or his-topathological examination.Te xed tissues were grad-ually dehydrated in ethanolby means o an automatic

tissue processor and em-bedded in parafn wax. Mi-crosections o 5 m cut romparafn embedded tissueblocks and stained withHaematoxylin and Eosin(H&E) were subjected tomicroscopic examination.Presently detail investiga-tions are been conductedto see etiology o the condi-tion.

AcknowledgementsDept o Wildlie Conser-vation, Sri Lanka or thepermission granted or thestudy to the rst authorand the Amphibian Spe-cialist Group Seed Grant tothe rst author. We thank

Ms. W.R. Jayaweera or hertechnical assistance in his-topathological studies.

Author Email: [email protected]

igre 2. Conpico re ptch in e pecimen anlem e silv

iec ck m: me ece ev m s

lkaem e sv, n. p. K. dwuek & smee Ku

here are ew reports rom SriLanka o predation by in-vertebrates on amphibian larvaeand adults. Tese invertebratesranged rom arachnids (Bamaba-radeniya, 2001), crustaceans (de

Silva, 1997), hemipterans(de Silva, 2001a) and Dip-teran larvae (de Silva 2001b,de Silva and de Silva, 2001).

Te present paper is ontwo incidents o coleopter-

ans (beetle) larvae (speciesnot yet identied) attack-ing and eeding on the bodyuids o amphibians. Tese

were observed during an ongoing island wide study onamphibian malormations.

Vol. 91 - 2009


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On December 9th, 2008 weobserved around 10 am abeetle larvae clinging on to atoad: Duttaphrynus melanostic-tusSchneider, 1799 (common

house toad) in an anthropo-genic habitat at Puttalam (N08 00 59.7 and E 7.9 5017.7, 28 m asl). Te insect

was clinging on to the toad byits claw-like appendage aboutone millimeter above the cloa-

cae o an adult common housetoad (Figure 1). Tislarvae did not all ordetached itsel romthe toad though the

toad was handledquite reely duringphotography. Teinsect was removedphotography oridentication (Fig-ure 2).

Te second episode was ob-served at alawakele (1400mabove sea level) in an anthro-pogenic habitat around 10

am where an arboreal shrubrog Philautus viridis Mana-mendra-Arachchi & Pethi-yagoda, 2005 was attackedon the ventral surace o therog by two coleopterans(beetle) larvae. One larva wasattached to the lower chinarea whilst the other on to

the abdomen. However, theattack on the chin appearedsevere as the larvae has virtu-ally burrowed into the esh(Figure 3). Te rog appeared

weak and died subsequentlywithin an hour. Both larvaeell during photography (Fig-ure 4). Tis attractive rog is

highly polymorphic in colour(Figure 5); it is an endemicand an endangered species(IUCN, 2007).

Te above two cases sug-gests not only o an unusual

insECt attaCKs on aMphibians in sri lanKa


igre 1. beetle lrve clinging on to dttphryn melnotict

anlem e silv

igre 2. unientife eetle lrve anlem e silv

igre 3. tl ttck on the chin opuu v

anlem e silv


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predator o amphibians, butalso that it could be atal oramphibians.

AcknowledgementsDept o Wildlie Conservation,Sri Lanka or the permissiongranted or the study to the

rst author and the AmphibianSpecialist Group Seed Grant tothe rst author. K. G. RoshanS. Nandana or assistance in theeld.

Literature citedBambaradeniya, C. N. B. 2001.

An incident o a Huntsman

Spider (Arthropoda; Araneae;Heteropodidae) eeding on aRhacophorid rog. Lyriocepha-lus Special Edition. 4 (1 & 2):140

de Silva, Anslem. 1997.Crab eeding on a tadpole. Ly-

riocephalus 3(2):28.

de Silva,

Anslem. 2001a.Some aquatic in-sects: predatorso anuran larvaeat Horton PlainsNational Park. Ly-riocephalus Spe-cial Edition. 4 (1& 2):145-146.

de Silva, Anslem.2001b. Some in-

sect predators o anuran larvaeobserved in Gampola, Sri Lanka.Lyriocephalus Special Edition. 4(1 & 2):147-149.

igre 4. unientife eetle lrve anlem e silv

igre 5. puu v green color phe anlem e silv

de Silva, Anslem andPanduka de Silva. 2001.Some observations on

the spawn and larval suc-cess oPolypedates crucigerBlyth, 1852 in Gampola,Sri Lanka. LyriocephalusSpecial Edition. 4 (1 &2):28-35.

IUCN Sri Lanka & theMinistry o Environmentand Natural Resources.

2007. Te 2007 Red Listo Treatened Fauna andFlora o Sri Lanka. Co-lombo. 148 pp.

Author Email: [email protected]

insECt attaCKs on aMphibians in sri lanKa


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Insect attacks on Amphibians (Sri Lanka)