Boana punctata (Schneider, 1799)

Schiesari, Luis, Rossa-Feres, Denise De Cerqueira, Menin, Marcelo & Hödl, Walter, 2022, Tadpoles of Central Amazonia (Amphibia: Anura), Zootaxa 5223 (1), pp. 1-149 : 47-48

Boana punctata

External morphology. Description based on one tadpole at Stage 39 (LCS 650). Total length 38.9 mm. Body elongate oval in dorsal view and globular/depressed in lateral view ( Fig. 21A, B ). Snout rounded in dorsal and lateral views. Eyes medium-sized, dorsally positioned and dorsolaterally directed. Nostrils medium-sized, oval, dorsolaterally positioned in an intermediate distance between the eyes and the snout, with opening anterolaterally directed, with a large projection on the marginal rim. Oral disc ( Fig. 21C ) ventral, ventrolaterally emarginate; marginal papillae triangular, uniseriate, with a dorsal gap. Submarginal papillae absent. LTRF 2(1,2)/3(1); A1 and A2 of the same length; P2 slightly longer than P1; P3 of about half the length of P2. Jaw sheaths narrow, finely serrated; anterior jaw sheath arch-shaped, posterior jaw sheath V-shaped. Spiracle single, sinistral, conical, short and wide, posterodorsally directed, opening in the posterior third of the body, with the centripetal wall fused to the body wall and longer than the external wall. Vent tube medial, fused to the ventral fin, with a dextral opening. Caudal musculature of moderate width; in lateral view gradually tapering to a pointed tip. Dorsal fin of moderate height and convex, originating at the tail-body junction; ventral fin shallow, convex. Tail tip pointed.

Colour. In preservative body and caudal musculature creamy; dorsum with dark dots; fins translucent. In life not observed, but tadpoles of B. punctata from Ecuador have body dark grey with black flecks; venter dark gray; tail olive green; iris pale bronze ( Duellman 1978).

Metamorphs. Metamorph green similar to adult.

Natural history. Eggs were not observed in Central Amazonia. Clutches of B. punctata from Ecuador contain 310 eggs ( Crump 1974). Tadpoles are found in floating meadows in várzea floodplain lakes .

Comments. Tadpoles of B. punctata were first described by Kenny (1969) from Trinidad, and they differ from those herein characterized by presenting dorsal fin originating on the tail and LRTF 2(2)/3. These tadpoles were also characterized by Duellman (1978) from Ecuador, Hoogmoed (1979) from Surinam and French Guiana, Duellman (2005) from Peru, Kolenc et al. (2008) from Chaco Province, Argentina, and by Schulze et al. (2015) from Bolivia. The characteristics that differentiate these tadpoles from those herein characterized are: eyes lateral, oral disc anteroventral and laterally emarginate, and LRTF 2(2)/3 ( Duellman 1978); body ovoid in dorsal view, oral disc anteroventral with lateral emarginations, and LTRF 2(2)/3 ( Duellman 2005); nostrils closer to eyes than to the tip of snout, row of marginal papillae single or biserially disposed in angular and infraangular regions, some submarginal papillae, LRTF 2(2)/4(1), and P4 located very close to papillae of posterior border of oral disc, with its labial teeth smaller than other ones ( Kolenc et al. 2008); body ovoid in dorsal view, snout rounded to slightly tapered in lateral view, oral disc located and directed anteroventrally, oral disc emarginate laterally and slightly emarginate on posterior labium, marginal papillae irregularly aligned in a uniseriate row, papillae conical and long, few submarginal papillae present laterally, eyes positioned laterally, and nostrils positioned and directed anterodorsally ( Schulze et al. 2015). The only morphological difference between tapoles from Surinam and French Guiana ( Hoogmoed 1979) and those herein characterized is the body ovoid in dorsal view in the former.

Figures

FIGURE 21. Tadpole of Boana punctata (LCS 650) at Stage 39: (A) lateral view, (B) dorsal view (scale = 10 mm), and (C) oral disc (scale = 1 mm).