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Family: Bufonidae
Pico Blanco Toad, more...Pico Blanco Toad, Pico Blanco Toad (es: Sapo Pico Blanco, Sapo Pico Blanco, Sapo Pico Blanco)
[Bufo fastidiosus Cope, 1875, moreOllotis fastidiosa (Cope, 1875)] |
Adult: Species description based on Savage (2002). A medium-sized toad (males to 52 mm, females to 60 mm). Dorsal: The dorsal surface is dark brown or black and covered with warts arranged in a series of longitudinal rows. The warts are dark or may be reddish or pinkish in coloration. A narrow light middorsal stripe is usually present. The cranial crests are well-developed and massive. Ventral: The ventral surface is extensively mottled with dark brown or black. The ventral surface is very bumpy. Eye: The iris is brown. Extremities: This toad has rather short limbs. The hands and feet are very fleshy, with substantial webbing between fingers and toes. Breeding season: Breeding occurs during the dry season after rains in slow moving streams (Lips and Krempels 1995). Breeding is explosive (Lips and Krempels 1995). Numerous (up to 10) males will attempt to amplex a single female, which results in the formation of balls of toads (Lips and Krempels 1995). Females do not always survive (Lips and Krempels 1995). Amplexus is inguinal (Graybeal and de Quieroz 1992). Egg: Females lay 80-90 eggs in strands (a rather small clutch size for toads, Lips and Krempels 1995). The eggs are black and yellow (Lips and Krempels 1995). Eggs hatch after 4-5 days (Lips and Krempels 1995). Tadpole: The tadpoles of Incilius fastidiosus are small and very dark brown (Lips and Krempels 1995, Savage 2002). The ventral surface is grey and is not transparent (Lips and Krempels 1995). The tail fins are translucent with some dark pigmentation (Lips and Krempels 1995, Savage 2002). The tadpoles tend to aggregate in pools in streams (Lips and Krempels 1995). Habitat: Premontane forest between 760 and 1200 m. Call: Males have no vocal sac and do not produce an advertisement call (Savage 2002). However, males do produce a weak trill as a release call (Lips and Krempels 1995, Savage 2002). Type locality: 2500 feet elevation on the slope of the Pico Blanco, in the district of Uren (Costa Rica) Diagnostic description: It has black background color with parotid and some tubers, reddish brown. The dorsal skin has several longitudinal regular series of enlarged tubers. The cranial crests are massive and tall. The belly is mottled black and clear. With an eye posterior or anterior to the armpit level just parotid gland. Parotid gland is of moderate to small size less than half the area of the upper eyelid. Lacks eardrum. Lacks eustachian tubes and pharyngeal ostia. Standard length of adult males is 46-52 mm., Females from 55 to 59 mm. No conspicuous tarsal tubercle present. Fingers lacking complete membrane. The interiors are well developed fingers. It lacks the tarsal fold. The fingers of the hands and feet lacking subarticular tubercles well developed. The hands and feet are shaped fleshy bearings. Fingers and legs are not completely webbed. The first finger of the foot is well developed. Habitat: They live on the ground and under logs in the lower montane rain forest. Reproduction: They inguinal amplexus. Distribution in Costa Rica: In the middle and southern highlands of the Talamanca mountain range, between 760 and 12,100 m. Lift (Savage, 2002). Populations of this species throughout its range disappeared in Costa Rica in the early 90's. Since there are no recent records. Distribution outside Costa Rica: They are in the Caribbean slope of the Cordillera de Talamanca-Chiriqui southeast of Costa Rica and western Panama. Bocas Species Database Habitat: Viven en el piso y debajo de los troncos en el bosque húmedo Montano Bajo. Distribution: Provincia de Bocas del Toro, N. Slope Cerro Pando |