Unveiling the Diet Composition of Trachycephalus typhonius (Linnaeus, 1758) from a Relictual Mountain in Brazilian Semiarid

Abstract

Animal food is one of the most important ecological aspects of one species. Studying this factor is fundamental to understanding their life history, microhabitat use, and interactions with other species. Amphibians are an interesting group to understand the food chains because they interact with aquatic and terrestrial environments. Among them, Trachycephalus typhonius is a widespread treefrog in South America but there is still a lack of knowledge about its natural history. Therefore, we described the feeding habits of T. typhonius from a relictual humid forest mountain in Brazilian semiarid. The present study was conducted in the Maranguape mountain, Ceará state, Brazil during the rainy season from April to May 2019. We collected the individuals using visual and auditory searches. Overall, we found 24 specimens of T. typhonius, in which all of them had stomach contents. We identified 11 prey categories, in which coleopterans and orthopterans were the most important prey item for this species’ diet. It is also important to point out that plant pieces were found in the stomach of eight individuals, which might suggest a purposeful consumption. Additionally, we found no significant differences regarding the abundance, richness, and composition of prey items consumed by males and females. In contrast, we observed individuals with largest mouth breadth tend to select prey items more volumetric. Overall, our study is the pioneer to investigate the feeding habits of T. typhonius from a montane ecosystem in Brazilian semiarid region and contributes to increasing the knowledge about its natural history.