Abstract

Adult Leptodactylus fragilis are small. The head is longer than wide, and the hind limbs are moderately long (Table 1; Heyer and Thompson 2000 provided definitions of adult size and leg length categories for Leptodactylus). Male vocal sacs are laterally expanded and range from lightly gray speckled to darkly pigmented. Male snout is spatulate; female snout is rounded. Male forearms are not hypertrophied and males lack asperities on the thumbs and chest. The dorsum is spotted or blotched with dark markings, which are often chevron-shaped and sometimes confluent. The supratympanic fold is dark brown. A pair of dorsolateral folds is usually poorly developed, extending from the posterior portion of the eye, passing just lateral to the sacral bones and ending in the upper groin region at the leg; the folds are often highlighted by dark and/or light stripes. A pair of lateral folds extends from the posterior dorsal portion of the tympanic fold to the midgroin level at the leg juncture; the folds are often interrupted and/or poorly developed and are usually of lighter color than the adjacent flanks. The toe tips are rounded, either of equal diameter or slightly greater than the toe portion immediately behind the tip. The toes either lack lateral ridges and basal webbing or have very weakly developed lateral ridges (most developed proximally) and a trace of basal webbing between some or all toes 1-11-111-IV. The dorsal surface of the shank is usually covered with many white tubercles, or sometimes the white tubercles are few and scattered. The posterior surface of the tarsus either has many white tubercles (89%), or is smooth (11%). The sole of the foot always has many white tubercles. A light lip stripe extending from under the nostrils, passing under the eye and tympanum and continuing through the commissural gland is usually poorly developed (97%) or rarely distinct (3%). An interrupted mid-dorsal dark pin-stripe is occasionally present. The belly is often cream colored (lacking melanophores), it may have a scattering of melanophores to scattered diffuse dark blotches anteriorly and on the sides, or there may be scattered melanophores over the entire belly. The posterior surface of the thigh usually has a very distinct light longitudinal stripe on the lower half (66%), often moderately distinct (33%), or rarely absent (1 %).

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

2006

Publisher Statement

Copyright © 2006 Society for the Study of Amphibians and Reptiles. This article first appeared in Catalogue of American Amphibians and Reptiles, 2006, 830.1 - 830.26.

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