Observations on Parental Care in The Glass Frog Hyalinobatrachium Orientate (Anura: Centrolenidae) from Tobago, with Comments on its Natural History

Publication Date

2012

Document Type

Article

Issue

1

Abstract

Egg attendance behavior of glass frog Hyalinobatrachium orientale from Tobago, West Indies, were studied. On July 25, 2012, three different males calling from leaves above an unnamed stream in the Tobago Forest Reserve were observed attending six different egg masses simultaneously. The males were commonly seen on top of, or otherwise in direct contact with, the egg masses. This observation suggests tat the males actually were attending the eggs and were not coincidently found in their proximity. In 2011, along a branch of the King's Bay, glass frog eggs, embryos, and tadpoles were found on a fallen leaf near the streamside. Observations found that when explosively hatching, these tadpoles could propel themselves up to distance of 40 cm. These tadpoles were found to be bright green in color and transparent, while yolk was still present in the gut.

Keywords

Egg attendance, Hatching plasticity, Tobago, Trinidad

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