Feeding habits of the bromeligenous treefrog Phyllodytes edelmoi Peixoto, Caramaschi & Freire, 2003 (Anura: Hylidae) from the State of Alagoas, Northeastern Brazil

摘要

The hylid frog genus Phyllodytes comprised 12 species distributed in eastern Brazil and known to strictly inhabit inside bromeliads. In this study, we explore the feeding habits of P. edelmoi and test the prey selectivity of the species by comparing the prey items in the stomachs contents with the availability of preys in bromeliads. Our results show that P. edelmoi consumes high amounts of ants along the year, and therefore it could be considered an “ant specialist” species. This specialist feeding behaviour could be considered a synapomorphy of the genus Phyllodytes.