VOCAL REPERTORY OF TWO SPECIES OF THE LEPTODACTYLUS PENTADACTYLUS GROUP (ANURA, LEPTODACTYLIDAE)

INTRODUCTION Among frogs, acoustic signals are related to female attraction, territorial demarcation, and predator avoidance (Gerhardt and Huber 2002). The advertisement, courtship, territorial, encounter, reciprocation, release and distress calls are main kinds of anuran vocalizations (Duellman and Trueb 1994; Gerhardt and Huber 2002). Besides advertisement call, some species of Leptodactylus of the L. pentadactylus group (sensu Heyer 1979, 2005) present reciprocation, release and distress calls (Heyer 1979; Hödl and Gollmann 1986; Hero and Galatti 1990; Kaiser 1994; Davis et al. 2000; Heyer and Thompson 2000; Heyer 2005; Toledo et al. 2005). The vocal repertory of L. labyrinthicus includes advertisement, courtship, distress, and territorial calls (Márquez et al. 1995; Toledo et al. 2005; Zina and Haddad 2005). Males of L. syphax produce advertisement and aggressive calls and non-vocal clicks (Cardoso and Heyer 1995). Herein we report and describe for the fi rst time a reciprocation call in L. syphax and show that its advertiseABSTRACT: Among frogs, vocalizations play important roles in their social interactions. Herein we describe fi ve new types of vocalizations for two foam-nesting species of the Leptodactylus pentadactylus group, L. syphax and L. labyrinthicus. Behavioral observations and recordings were done in four localities within the Cerrado biome, at southeast and central Brazil. Before emitting advertisement calls, males of L. syphax often started producing a sequence of notes, which gradually turned into the advertisement call. These different notes may be an introductory call, which would serve to prepare the vocal structures for the emission of the high-frequency/amplitude advertisement calls. A male of L. syphax was emitting advertisement calls when a female approached and started to emit brief and low-amplitude calls; these vocalizations probably are reciprocation calls. Males of L. labyrinthicus involved in agonistic interactions can emit vocal cracks (encounter call) and deep rough sounds (territorial calls). Five courting males of L. labyrinthicus released screams with their mouth slightly opened in response to the approach of human observers. We conclude that these screams do not represent distress or territorial calls.