Physalaemus pustulosus

Túngara Frog

Cope, 1864

Class: Amphibia
Order: Anura
Family: Leptodactylidae
Subfamily: Leptodactylinae

Description

Coloration: Brown with rough skin. Toad-like in appearance.
Size: S/V 25-35 mm
Skin: Rugose
Vocalization: A "mew" at ~2 second intervals. If other males are calling near the advertising male, he will add "chucks" to his call to warn the rival male to maintain his distance.

Call (male advertisement)

Distribution

Mexico to South America

Habitat & Ecology

Habitat: Terrestrial. Lives among forest leaf litter, pasture land, and in areas of human disturbance.
Diet: Insectivorous.

Reproduction

Breeding occurs in shallow pools, marshes and roadside ditches. It is stimulated by heavy rains. The male produces an advertisement call to attract females for mating. Females appear to choose mates based solely on calling ability. Amplexus occurs and the female produces a combination of eggs and jelly which the male picks up with his hind limbs and whips into the foam nest. Eggs hatch 1-2 days later and descend from the nest into the water. Tadpoles metamorphose in 4 to 6 weeks into frogs 5 to 7 mm long and can begin breeding in 2 to 3 months after metamorphosis.

Conservation

Status: Not Listed, but habitat destruction threatens amphibians worldwide.

Other Comments

Information Pending

References

Rand, A.S. 1983 Species Accounts of Physalaemus pustulosus from Costa Rican Natural History. D.H. Janzen Ed. Univ. Chicago Press, pp. 412-15.
Lahanas, P. 1995 The Function of Near Neighbors in Decreasing Call Latency Period by the Túngara Frog, Physalaemus pustulosus. Biotropica 27(2): 262-265.
Villa, J., Wilson, L.D., & J.D. Johnson 1988 Middle American Herpetology. Univ. of Missouri Press, 131 pp.