Sphaenorhynchus dorisae (Goin, 1957)

Schiesari, Luis, Rossa-Feres, Denise De Cerqueira, Menin, Marcelo & Hödl, Walter, 2022, Tadpoles of Central Amazonia (Amphibia: Anura), Zootaxa 5223 (1), pp. 1-149 : 77-78

Sphaenorhynchus dorisae

External morphology. Description based on one tadpole at Stage 31 (CZPB-LA 246/558). Total length 36.2 mm. Body ovoid in dorsal view and globular in lateral view ( Fig. 47A, B ). Snout rounded in dorsal view and truncate in lateral view. Eyes small, positioned and directed laterally. Nostrils medium-sized, oval, laterally positioned, near to eyes, with opening anterolaterally directed, with a small projection on the marginal rim. Oral disc ( Fig. 47C ) anteroventral, ventrolaterally emarginate; marginal papillae conical, uniseriate, with a dorsal gap. Submarginal papillae absent. LTRF 2(2)/3(1); A2 as two short fragments; P2 shorter than P1; P3 about one third of P2 length. Anterior jaw sheath narrower than posterior jaw sheath, both finely serrated; anterior jaw sheath M-shaped, posterior jaw sheath U-shaped. Spiracle single, sinistral, conical, long and wide, posterodorsally directed, opening in the medial third of the body and posterodorsally directed, 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 medial opening. Caudal musculature of moderate width; in lateral view gradually tapering to a pointed tip. Dorsal fin of moderate height, originating at the tail-body junction, convex; ventral fin of moderate height and convex. Tail tip pointed.

Colour. In preservative body and caudal musculature grayish brown; dorsum with a dark brown longitudinal stripe; fins mottled and translucent; venter grayish. In life not observed, but tadpoles of S. dorisae from Colombia have venter whitish in the anterior region and pinkish in the posterior region; fins pinkish translucent with small brown spots; iris silvery white ( Suárez-Mayorga & Lynch 2001).

Natural history. Eggs were not observed in Central Amazonia. Gravid females contain on average 326 ovarian eggs (Ĥdl 1990). Clutches from Peru contain from 147 to 218 green eggs ( Rodríguez & Duellman 1994). Tadpoles are found in floating meadows in várzea floodplain lakes.

Comments. S. dorisae tadpoles from Colombia ( Lynch & Suárez-Mayorga 2011) differ from those herein characterized by presenting a ventral gap in marginal papillae row, corresponding to the width of P3, and few (less than 10) submarginal papillae.

Figures

FIGURE 47. Tadpole of Sphaenorhynchus dorisae (CZPB 246/558) at Stage 31: (A) lateral view, (B) dorsal view (scale = 10 mm), and (C) oral disc (scale = 1 mm).