Two records of anurophagy in Leptodactylus macrosternum from Cerrado, Brazil, with a review list of cases for the genus Leptopdactylus (Anura: Leptodactylidae)

Abstract

Anurophagy represents a small percentage of anurans’ diet, however, the observation of this behavior is frequent and well-documented. Herein we reported two events of anurophagy of Leptodactylus macrosternum preying a newly metamorphosed Physalaemus nattereri and an adult Boana punctata, both in the municipality of Dois Irmãos do Buriti, Mato Grosso do Sul state, Western Brazil. Additionally, we summarized literature records of anurophagy in Leptodactylus. We found 99 records of anurophagy in different stages of development. Physalaemus nattereri and Boana punctata have never been reported as prey for Leptodactylus and this predation might be due to a combination of abundance and the high call activity during the breeding season. Anurophagy in Leptodactylus has more records for large-sized species, even in the larvae stage. Anurophagy occurrence in leptodactylids may be related to the size of the predator, habitat, and area diversity since more complex and diverse environments tend to present more anurophagy events.