Leptodactylus latrans

Leptodactylus latrans is a species of frog in the family Leptodactylidae.[1] It is native to much of South America east of the Andes, and Trinidad and Tobago.[2] It has many common names, including rana criolla, sapo-rana llanero,[2] butter frog, and lesser foam frog.[3]

Leptodactylus latrans
Conservation status
Least Concern  (IUCN 3.1)
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Amphibia
Order:	Anura
Family:	Leptodactylidae
Genus:	Leptodactylus
Species:	L. latrans
Binomial name
Leptodactylus latrans (Steffen, 1815)
Synonyms
Leptodactylus ocellatus auct. non (Linnaeus, 1758) Rana gibbosa Raddi, 1823 Rana fusca Raddi, 1823 Rana pygmaea Spix, 1824 Rana pachypus Spix, 1824 Rana pachybrachion Wied-Neuwied, 1824 Rana macrocephala Wied-Neuwied, 1825 Leptodactylus serialis Girard, 1853 Leptodactylus caliginosus Girard, 1853 Rana luctator Hudson, 1892 Rana octoplicata Werner, 1893 Cystignathus oxycephalus Philippi, 1902 Leptodactylus macrosternum Miranda-Ribero, 1926 Leptodactylus pygmaeus Miranda-Ribeiro, 1927

Habitat and ecology

This is a common species in many parts of its range. It can be found in a variety of habitat types, including swamps, savannah, grasslands, and tropical forest ecosystems.[2] It tolerates disturbed habitat and can be seen in gardens and urban areas.[2] It breeds in temporary water bodies, such as ponds and floodplains, where it creates a foam nest for its eggs.[2] In some cases, one parent, usually a female, guards the tadpoles and attacks potential predators.[4]

Taxonomy

This taxon is considered to be a species complex, or a component of one, and taxonomic studies may distinguish several different species among its populations.[5]

References

1. Lavilla, Langone, Caramaschi, Heyer & de Sá (2010). The identification of Rana ocellata Linnaeus, 1758. Nomenclatural impact on the species currently known as Leptodactylus ocellatus (Leptodactylidae) and Osteopilus brunneus (Gosse, 1851) (Hylidae). Zootaxa 2346: 1–16
2. Heyer, R., et al. 2010. Leptodactylus latrans. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2010. Downloaded on 21 January 2018.
3. Leptodactylus latrans. Amphibian Species of the World 6.0. American Museum of Natural History.
4. Vitt, Laurie J.; Caldwell, Janalee P. (2014). Herpetology: An Introductory Biology of Amphibians and Reptiles (4th ed.). Academic Press. p. 175.
5. Heyer, W. R. (2013). Morphological analyses of frogs of the Leptodactylus latrans complex (Amphibia, Leptodactylidae) from selected localities in South America. Proceedings of the Biological Society of Washington: January 2014, Vol. 126(4) 369-78.

Further reading

• Bogart, J. P. (1974). A karyosystematic study of frogs in the genus Leptodactylus (Anura: Leptodactylidae). Copeia, (3), 728–737.
• Heyer, W. R. (1969). The adaptive ecology of the species groups of the Genus Leptodactylus (Amphibia, Leptodactylidae). Evolution, 23, 421–428.
• Prado, C. P. de A., Uetanabaro, M., Haddad, C F. B. (2002). Description of a new reproductive mode in Leptodactylus (Anura, Leptodactylidae), with a review of the reproductive specialization towards terrestriality in the genus. Copeia, 2002(4), 221–245.