The family Leptodactylidae consists of more than 100 species of anurans distributed from southern Texas (USA) through Central America to South America (Frost, 2011). The genus Leptodactylus, part of the Leptodactylidae, is represented by species of medium to large sizes, which are widely distributed in South America (Kwet and Di-Bernardo, 1999; Brusquetti and Lavilla, 2006; Achaval and Olmos, 2007). Leptodactylus ssp. are commonly encountered in lentic and lotic aquatic environments and often occur in urbanized areas (Loebmann, 2005; Solé et al., 2009).

Leptodactylus vastus belongs to the pentadactylus group, which reaches up 25 cm snout-vent length and can achieve a body mass of little over one kilo (Heyer, 1969; Heyer, 2005). During the rainy season L. vastus can be observed in open habitats in the vicinity of temporary or permanent ponds (Heyer, 2005; Brasileiro et al., 2008). Leptodactylus vastus is a voracious feeder with a varied diet that includes some vertebrates like fish, bats and other anurans, although small arthropods represent the majority of their food items (Freitas and Silva, 2004; Gouveia et al., 2009).

We report here one opportune observation of an adult Leptodactylus vastus (CRC 114,6mm) preying on an adult Leptodactylus latrans (CRC 75.2 mm). The observation took place during a field expedition on June 18, 2011, at 20:30 h at the margin of a pond (-10.31723 S and -37.03655 W, elevation 196m, Datum SAD-69), in the municipality of Capela, Sergipe, north-eastern Brazil. The site consists of an open pasture area next to a lake where several calling anuran species were

concentrated. The initial observation was prompted by following an agonistic sound, revealed to be emitted by an individual Leptodactylus latrans which was in the process of being consumed by a L. vastus (Fig. 1A). Upon disturbance and capture of the predator, two Hypsiboas albomarginatus were regurgitated, one of these still intact and the other partially digested (Fig. 1B). All specimens were collected and deposited in the Collection Herpetological of University of Sergipe (CHUFS), São Cristóvão, Sergipe (C1432 – Leptodactylus vastus; C1431 – Leptodactylus latrans; C1431 – Hypsiboas albumarginatus).

This record presented herein presents further evidence of the generalistic and voracious feeding behaviour of Leptodactylus vastus, whereas in the present work a single individual preyed upon three anurans of two species at once.

Acknowledgements. We thank Prof. Dra. Flora Acuna Juncá for her revision of the text and confirmation of the identity of the observed species. Bruno Duarte da Silva is thanked for his revision of the text. The Secretaria de Meio Ambiente e Recursos Hídricos – SEMARH/SE and Universidade Federal de Sergipe are thanked for logistic support. Collection permits were granted by Instituto Brasileiro do Meio Ambiente e dos Recursos Naturais Renováveis – IBAMA (permit # 10504-1).

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Brasileiro, C.A., Lucas, E.M., Oyamaguchi, H.M., Thomé, M.T.C., Dixo, M. (2008): Anurans, Northern Tocantins River Basin, states of Tocantins and Maranhão, Brazil. Check List 4(2): 185-197.

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Freitas, M.A, Silva, T.F.S. (2004): Anfíbios na Bahia, Um guia de identificação. Camaçarí, Malha-de-Sapo-Publicações.

Herpetology Notes, volume 5: 449-450 (2012) (published online on 7 October 2012)

Predation of Leptodactylus latrans (Anura, Leptodactylidae) and Hypsiboas albomarginatus (Anura, Hylidae) by Leptodactylus

vastus (Anura, Leptodactylidae) in north-eastern Brazil

Daniel Oliveira Santana1,2,*, Stéphanie Menezes Rocha1, Izabel Regina Soares da Silva1 and Renato Gomes Faria1

1 Núcleo de Pesquisa e Pós-Graduação em Ecologia e Conser-vação, Universidade Federal de Sergipe, Rod. Rondon s/nº, CEP 49100-00, São Cristóvão - SE, Brasil.

2 Faculdade Atlântico. Rua Eng. João Carvalho de Aragão, 69, Atalaia. CEP 49037-620. Aracaju - SE, Brasil.

*Corresponding author; e-mail: danielbioufs@yahoo.com.br

Daniel Oliveira Santana et al.450

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Gouveia, S.F., Rocha, P.A., Mikalauskas, J.S., Silveira, V.V. (2009): Rhinella jimi (Cururu Toad) and Leptodactylus vastus (Northeastern Pepper Frog). Predation on bats. Herpetological Review 40(2): 210.

Heyer, W.R. (1969): The adaptive ecology of the species groups of the genus Leptodactylus (Amphibia, Leptodactylidae). Evolu-tion 23(3): 421-428.

Heyer, W.R. (2005): Variation and Taxonomic Clarification of the Large Species of the Leptodactylus pentadactylus Species Group (Amphibia: Leptodactylidae) from Middle America, Northern South America, and Amazonia. Arquivos de Zoologia 37(3): 269-348.

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Loebmann, D. (2005): Guia ilustrado – Os anfíbios da região costeira do extremo sul do Brasil. Pelotas, USEB.

Solé, M., Dias, I.R., Rodrigues, E.A.S., Marciano Jr. E., Branco, S.M.J., Cavalcante, K.P., Rodder, D. (2009): Diet of Leptodac-tylus ocellatus (Anuro: Leptodactylidae) from a cacao plantation in southern Bahia, Brazil. Herpetology Notes 2: 9-15.

Figure 1. A: Adult individual of Leptodactylus vastus preying on an adult of Leptodactylus latrans; B: Adults individuals of Hypsiboas albomarginatus regurgitated at the moment of capture of Leptodactylus vastus.

Accepted by Wouter Beukema