Anfíbios de um brejo-de-altitude no bioma Caatinga (Serra de Maranguape, Ceará), com ênfase na biologia de uma espécie endêmica e ameaçada (Adelophryne maranguapensis, Anura, Leutherodactylidae)

Abstract

This work is distributed in five chapters that focuses the composition of amphibians in Maranguape mountain, State of Ceara, prioritizing informations on the reproductive biology of Adelophryne maranguapensis, an endemic and endangered anuran, whose genus has rare natural history observations. In the first chapter, we provide a list of amphibians of the mountain, and compared their spatial distribution within the humid forest. We recorded 20 species of Anura and two Gymnophiona. It was noticed a decrease of species with increasing altitude and the establishment of two community structures, and was perceived that A. maranguapensis is the most abundant species. The second chapter deals with the sexual dimorphism of A. maranguapensis. We analyzed differences between 12 body measurements and coloration of males and females. Females had higher measures and were dimorphic regarding snout-vent length, distance from the eye to the nostril and head width, besides having red patches on the thighs. In the third chapter we describe the reproductive mode of A. maranguapensis, and detailed the oviposition site and for the first time evidenced the direct development to the genus. We conclude that A. maranguapensis lays eggs in bromeliads and therefore have arboreal reproductive mode. The fourth chapter extends the knowledge of the previous chapter, describing in detail the conditions for spawning, proposing a new reproductive mode for the anurans, which details the environment arboreal oviposition, and indicate the specific location inside the plant. This chapter also indicates the rainy season as the breeding season and for the first time describes parental care for the genus. We also verified that A. maranguapensis has no preference to bromeliad species for oviposition. In the fifth chapter we describe the advertisement call of A. maranguapensis. The call has 5-8 multi pulsed notes. We also describe a call with a single multi pulsed note with unknown function, emitted by animals in bromeliads, and may be related to reproduction, or just be an agonistic call.