Thanatosis in the Gold-striped Frog Lithodytes lineatus (Anura: Leptodactylidae) in the tropical dry forest of northeastern Colombia

Authors

  • Giovany Díaz

Keywords:

Predator-prey, North of Santander, Behavioral defenses, Antipredator behavior, Anurans

Abstract

Predation forces prey to develop multiple forms of evasion, including thanatosis, as a behavior that leads to the adoption of a posture where the animal appears to be dead. In this study we report for the first time thanatosis as a strategy present in the genus Lithodytes and the species L. lineatus, adding one more behavior to a list that includes Batesian mimicry, Müllerian mimicry, deimatic behavior and chemical mimicry.

References

Bernarde, P.S. & Kokubum, M.N. de C. 2009. ‘’Seasonality, age structure and reproduction of Lithodytes (Lithodytes) lineatus (Anura, Leptodactylidae) in Rondônia state, southwestern Amazon, Brazil. Iheringia. Série Zoologia 99: 368-372.

Cintra, C.E.D.; da Silva, H.L.R., & Junior, N.J.S. 2014). First record of Lithodytes lineatus (Schneider, 1799) (Anura: Leptodactylidae) in the state of Tocantins, ecotone zone Amazon-Cerrado biomes, with notes on its natural history. Herpetology Notes 7: 179-184.

Cloudsley-Thompson, J.L. 1999. Diversity of Anti-predator Devices: 85-107. In: Cloudsley-Thompson, J.L. (ed.). 2012. The Diversity of Amphibians and Reptiles: An Introduction. Springer Science & Business Media. London, UK.

de Lima-Barros, A.; López-Lozano, J.L. & Lima, A.P. 2016. ‘’The frog Lithodytes lineatus (Anura: Leptodactylidae) uses chemical recognition to live in colonies of leaf-cutting ants of the genus Atta (Hymenoptera: Formicidae).’’ Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology 70: 2195-2201.

de Oliveira-Santos, J.R.; Bressan Queiroz de Figueiredo, R.C. & Barbosa de Moura, G.J. 2023. The defense repertoire of males of Leptodactylus vastus Lutz 1930 in a fragment of the Atlantic Forest in northeastern Brazil. Ethology Ecology & Evolution, 35: 299-310.

Duellman, W.E. 2005. Cusco Amazónico: The Lives of Amphibians and Reptiles in an Amazonian Rainforest. Comstock Pub. Associates, Ithaca.

Escobar-Lasso, S. & González-Duran, G.A. 2012. Strategies employed by three Neotropical frogs (Amphibia: Anura) to avoid predation. Herpetology Notes 5: 79-84.

Frost, D.R. 2024. Amphibian species of the World: An online reference. Version 6.2. Electronic database accessible at https://amphibiansoftheworld.amnh.org/index.php. American Museum of Natural History, New York, USA. Last accessed: 23 of February 2025.

Haynes, T. & Sen, S. 1995. Evolving behavioral strategies in predators and prey. In International Joint Conference on Artificial Intelligence, 113-126 pp. Springer Berlin Heidelberg. Berlin, Heidelberg.

Humphreys, R.K. & Ruxton, G.D. 2018. A review of thanatosis (death feigning) as an anti-predator behaviour. Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology 72: 1-16.

Lourenço-de-Moraes, R.; Batista, V.G. & Ferreira, R.B. 2014. Defensive behaviors of Leptodactylus chaquensis (Anura: Leptodactylidae). Evolution 23:, 1-25.

Nelson, C. & Miller, G.A. 1971. A possible case of mimicry in frogs. Herptelogical Review 3:109

Pedroso-Santos, F.; Sanches, P.R. & Costa-Campos, C.E. 2022. Defensive behaviours and colour patterns displayed by frogs in two rainforest areas of the northern Brazilian Amazon, with comments on mimicry patterns. Herpetology Notes 15: 153-164.

Prates, I.; Antoniazzi, M.M.; Sciani, J.M.; Pimenta, D.C.; Toledo, L.F.; Haddad, C.F.; & Jared, C. 2012. Skin glands, poison and mimicry in dendrobatidae and leptodactylidae amphibians. Journal of Morphology 273(3): 279-290.

Rogers, S.M.; & Simpson, S.J. 2014. Thanatosis. Current Biology 24(21): R1031-R1033.

Santos, J.C.; Tarvin, R.D. & O’Connell, L.A. 2016. A review of

chemical defense in poison frogs (Dendrobatidae): ecology, pharmacokinetics, and autoresistance. Chemical signals in vertebrates 13: 305-337.

Toledo, L.F.; Sazima, I. & Haddad, C.F. 2010. Is it all death feigning? Case in anurans. Journal of Natural History 44: 1979-1988.

Toledo, L.F.; Sazima, I. & Haddad, C.F. 2011. Behavioural defences of anurans: an overview. Ethology Ecology & Evolution 23: 1-25.

Downloads

Published

2025-05-12

How to Cite

Díaz, G. (2025). Thanatosis in the Gold-striped Frog Lithodytes lineatus (Anura: Leptodactylidae) in the tropical dry forest of northeastern Colombia. Cuadernos De Herpetología, 39(1). Retrieved from https://cuadernosdeherpetologia.com/index.php/CdH/article/view/270

Issue

Vol. 39 No. 1 (2025): Cuadernos de Herpetología

Section

Notas

License

Copyright (c) 2025 Giovany Díaz

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International

You are free to:
Share — copy and redistribute the material in any medium or format
Adapt — remix, transform, and build upon the material
The licensor cannot revoke these freedoms as long as you follow the license terms.


Under the following terms:

  • Attribution — You must give appropriate credit, provide a link to the license, and indicate if changes were made. You may do so in any reasonable manner, but not in any way that suggests the licensor endorses you or your use.

  • NonCommercial — You may not use the material for commercial purposes.

  • No additional restrictions — You may not apply legal terms or technological measures that legally restrict others from doing anything the license permits.