Leptodactylus latrans

Leptodactylus latrans
Conservation status
Least Concern  (IUCN 3.1) [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 ocellatusauct. non (Linnaeus, 1758) Rana gibbosaRaddi, 1823 Rana fuscaRaddi, 1823 Rana pygmaeaSpix, 1824 Rana pachypusSpix, 1824 Rana pachybrachionWied-Neuwied, 1824 Rana macrocephalaWied-Neuwied, 1825 Leptodactylus serialisGirard, 1853 Leptodactylus caliginosusGirard, 1853 Rana luctatorHudson, 1892 Rana octoplicataWerner, 1893 Cystignathus oxycephalusPhilippi, 1902 Leptodactylus macrosternumMiranda-Ribero, 1926 Leptodactylus pygmaeusMiranda-Ribeiro, 1927

Leptodactylus latrans is a species of frog in the family Leptodactylidae. ^[2] It is native to much of South America east of the Andes, and Trinidad and Tobago. ^[1] It has many common names, including rana criolla, sapo-rana llanero, ^[3] butter frog, and lesser foam frog. ^[4]

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. ^[3] It tolerates disturbed habitat and can be seen in gardens and urban areas. ^[3] It breeds in temporary water bodies, such as ponds and floodplains, where it creates a foam nest for its eggs. ^[3] In some cases, one parent, usually a female, guards the tadpoles and attacks potential predators. ^[5]

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. ^[6]

References

1. Ronald Heyer, Jose Langone, Enrique La Marca, Claudia Azevedo-Ramos, Ismael di Tada, Diego Baldo, Esteban Lavilla, Norman Scott, Lucy Aquino, Jerry Hardy (2010). "Leptodactylus latrans". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species . 2010 e.T57151A11592655. doi: 10.2305/IUCN.UK.2010-2.RLTS.T57151A11592655.en . Retrieved 14 November 2021.
2. 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
3. Heyer, R., et al. 2010. Leptodactylus latrans. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2010. Retrieved 21 January 2018.
4. Leptodactylus latrans. Amphibian Species of the World 6.0. American Museum of Natural History.
5. Vitt, Laurie J.; Caldwell, Janalee P. (2014). Herpetology: An Introductory Biology of Amphibians and Reptiles (4th ed.). Academic Press. p. 175.
6. 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.