Black toad
| Black toad | ||||||||||||
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| Scientific name | ||||||||||||
| Melanophryniscus | ||||||||||||
| Gallardo , 1961 |
The black toad ( Melanophryniscus ) are a genus of the frog from the toad family (Bufonidae), which occurs in central and southeastern South America. About 25 species have been described so far. The animals have highly effective skin toxins and warn predators of this with some bright colors. In English they are therefore also called "South American Redbelly Toads" (South American red-bellied toads). In older systematic reviews , the taxa known at the time were still assigned to the stump foot frogs ( Atelopus ).
features
These are very small frogs, usually only two to three centimeters head-trunk length ; individual species also reach four centimeters. The females are larger and fuller than the males. The animals are toad-typical stocky built with short hind legs, a short snout and highly granulated ("warty") skin rich in glands. Some species have noticeable thickenings on the front head. On the upper side there is often an inconspicuous camouflage color of brown or black tones, while on the underside including the limbs there are spots or entire areas with bright warning colors (red, orange, yellow tones). When threatened, these bodies to be shown by the black toads just like the native to Europe and Asia toads reflexively adopt a so-called Kahn position. An extremely hollow back is formed and the undersides of the limbs are turned upwards. This characteristic passive defense behavior is internationally known as the " doom reflex ". The skin of the animals contains highly toxic alkaloids to protect against parasites and predators.
Distribution and way of life
The genus Melanophryniscus is found in the northern half of Argentina, in Andean valleys in southern Bolivia, in southern Brazil (especially in the state of Rio Grande do Sul ), in Paraguay and in Uruguay.
Black toads are active during the day and only when it rains, otherwise they apparently hide in crevices and under root systems. Their food spectrum includes small invertebrates such as ants. The courtship and spawning phase in the spring of the southern hemisphere (around October / November) is triggered spontaneously by heavy rain events. As so-called "explosive spawners", they then deposit their spawn in temporary pools, puddles and streams, from which the tadpoles develop very quickly . The mating calls of the males, generated with a throaty sound bubble , sound trilling or chirping. Female animals should also be able to make vocalizations.
Taxonomy
Within the genus, a distinction is made between several systematic groups of species with certain characteristics (appearance, calls), such as the predominantly black-colored species of the Melanophryniscus stelzneri or atroluteus group, the more brownish Melanophryniscus tumifrons group and the (monotypic?) Melanophryniscus more . The genus currently includes 29 species:
As of August 30, 2019
- Melanophryniscus admirabilis Di-Bernardo, Maneyro & Grillo, 2006
- Melanophryniscus alipioi Langone, Segalla, Bornschein & de Sá, 2008
- Melanophryniscus atroluteus (Miranda-Ribeiro, 1920)
- Melanophryniscus biancae Bornschein, Baldo, Pie, Firkowski, Ribeiro & Corrêa, 2015
- Melanophryniscus cambaraensis Braun & Braun, 1979
- Melanophryniscus cupreuscapularis Céspedez & Alvarez, 2000
- Melanophryniscus devincenzii Klappenbach, 1968
- Melanophryniscus dorsalis (Mertens, 1933)
- Melanophryniscus estebani Céspedez, 2008
- Melanophryniscus fulvoguttatus (Mertens, 1937)
- Melanophryniscus klappenbachi Prigioni & Langone, 2000
- Melanophryniscus krauczuki Baldo & Basso, 2004
- Melanophryniscus langonei Maneyro, Naya & Baldo, 2008
- Melanophryniscus milanoi Baldo, Bornschein, Pie, Firkowski, Ribeiro & Belmonte-Lopes, 2015
- Melanophryniscus macrogranulosus Braun, 1973
- Melanophryniscus montevidensis (Philippi, 1902)
- Melanophryniscus moreirae (Miranda-Ribeiro, 1920)
- Melanophryniscus pachyrhynus (Miranda-Ribeiro, 1920)
- Melanophryniscus paraguayensis Céspedez & Motte, 2007
- Melanophryniscus peritus Caramaschi & Cruz, 2011
- Melanophryniscus rubriventris (Vellard, 1947)
- Melanophryniscus sanmartini Klappenbach, 1968
- Melanophryniscus setiba Peloso, Faivovich, Grant, Gasparini, and Haddad, 2012
- Melanophryniscus simplex Caramaschi & Cruz, 2002
- Melanophryniscus spectabilis Caramaschi & Cruz, 2002
- Melanophryniscus stelzneri (Weyenbergh, 1875)
- Melanophryniscus tumifrons (Boulenger, 1905)
- Melanophryniscus vilavelhensis Steinbach-Padilha, 2008
- Melanophryniscus xanthostomus Baldo, Bornschein, Pie, Ribeiro, Firkowski & Morato, 2015
- Melanophryniscus orejasmirandai Prigioni & Langone, 1987 was synonymous with Melanophryniscus pachyrhynus (Miranda-Ribeiro, 1920) .
Individual evidence
- ↑ Axel Kwet: Herpetological Researcher Diary Southern Brazil , November 23, 2009
- ↑ Axel Kwet: Herpetological Researcher Diary Southern Brazil , December 22, 2009
- ↑ Dietrich Mebs, Moritz G. Wagner, Werner Pogoda, Raul Maneyro, Axel Kwet & Gerold Kauert : Lack of bufadienolides in the skin secretion of red bellied toads, Melanophryniscus spp. (Anura, Bufonidae), from Uruguay. Comparative Biochemistry and Physiology - Part C Toxicology & Pharmacology Volume 144, Issue 4, January 2007: 398-402. doi : 10.1016 / j.cbpc.2006.11.009
- ^ Darrel R. Frost: Melanophryniscus Gallardo, 1961 . In: Amphibian Species of the World: an Online Reference . Version 6.0. American Museum of Natural History, New York 1998–2019, accessed August 29, 2019
literature
- Rainer Schulte: frogs and toads. Ulmer-Verlag, Stuttgart 1980. ISBN 3-8001-7048-5
Web links
- List of species of the family Bufonidae at Amphibiaweb
- Amphibian Species of the World
- Melanophryniscus on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species.