New record and diet of a poorly known frog, Amolops daorum (Amphibia, Anura) from Vietnam
Authors/Creators
- 1. University of Science, Vietnam National University, Hanoi, Vietnam
- 2. Graduate University of Science and Technology, Hanoi, Vietnam|Vietnam Academy of Science and Technology, Hanoi, Vietnam
- 3. Graduate University of Science and Technology, Hanoi, Vietnam|Institute of Biology, Vietnam Academy of Science and Technology, Hanoi, Vietnam
- 4. Tay Bac University, Son La, Vietnam
- 5. University of Science, Vietnam National University, Hanoi, Vietnam|Vietnam National University, Hanoi, Vietnam|American Museum of Natural History, New York, United States of America
- 6. University of Cologne, Cologne, Germany|AG Zoologischer Garten Köln, Köln, Germany
Description
As a result of our field surveys, a new population of the Dao Frog, Amolops daorum (Bain, Lathrop, Murphy, Orlov & Ho, 2003), was found in Son La Province, northern Vietnam, and its identification was based on molecular and morphological analyses. To date, knowledge about the natural history of this species is scarce, including data on its dietary ecology. Using the stomach-flushing method, we analyzed stomach contents of 132 individuals (81 males and 51 females) of A. daorum. We found 501 prey items (458 invertebrates, one vertebrate, and 15 unidentified items), belonging to 11 insect orders (Blattodea, Coleoptera, Dermaptera, Diptera, Hemiptera, Hymenoptera, Isoptera, Lepidoptera, Odonata, Orthoptera, Plecoptera), insect larvae, Araneae, Opiliones, Mollusca, Polydesmida, Scolopendromorpha, and a frog. The dominant prey items of the species were Coleoptera (19.16%), Hymenoptera (17.76%), insect larvae (16.57%), Hemiptera (9.98%), Araneae (7.98%), Diptera (6.99), and Orthoptera (5.79%). The importance index for these categories ranged from 5.61% to 18.45%. Hymenoptera and Coleoptera were the categories with the highest frequency of prey items, found in 55 and 54 stomachs, respectively. There was an overlap of 82.83% in the diet between males and females. Coleoptera, insect larvae, Hymenoptera, Araneae, and Orthoptera represented the most important prey categories for both sexes.
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