Produção Nacional
Necrophagy on Rhinella ornata (Anura: Bufonidae) by the crab Trichodactylus fluviatilis (Crustacea: Trichodactylidae) in Atlantic Rainforest mountains of state of Rio de Janeiro, southeastern Brazil
2015; Volume: 8; Linguagem: Inglês
ISSN
2071-5773
AutoresJuliana L. Segadilha, Thiago Silva-Soares,
Tópico(s)Mosquito-borne diseases and control
Resumomedium-sized nocturnal species, endemic of Brazil, distributed along the coast of Atlantic Rainforest from the states of Espirito Santo to northern Parana (Baldissera, 2010; Frost, 2015). It is an abundant species that inhabits open and forested areas of mountains and coastal plains (Haddad et al., 2008). Anurans are part of the diet of a large number of predators, as mammals, birds, reptiles and many invertebrates (Duellman and Trueb, 1994) such as decapods crustaceans (McCormick and Polis, 1982). This latter taxon is, for instance, one of the main predators among the invertebrates (Wells, 2007). According to Begon et al. (2007) “necrophagy” is the consumption of flesh from carcasses. Many carnivorous are opportunistic carcass consumers (facultative scavengers), taking advantage of carrion when it is available (DeVault and Rhodes, 2002). Despite of the large number of reports regarding amphibians as prey and predators, consumption of dead animals has been frequently underestimated or minimized (CortezGomez et al., 2015). Necrophagy on R. ornata has not been reported until now. The freshwater crab Trichodactylus fluviatilis Latreille, 1828 is a nocturnal inhabitant of altitude streams, endemic of Atlantic Rainforest (Magalhaes, 2003). The species has a wide distribution along the continental and island areas from the coastal basins of eastern Brazil and in the basin of the upper Parana River (Magalhaes, 2003). It has been recorded in almost the whole range of the Atlantic Rainforest, from the states of Pernambuco to Rio Grande do Sul (Magalhaes, 2003). The T. fluviatilis crabs are considered omnivorous, feeding on plant material, eggs, other crustaceans, mollusks and tadpoles (Magalhaes, 2003; Mageski et al., 2013). They are important components of inland aquatic ecosystems, where they act as organic matter processors, playing a significant role in nutrient cycling (Cumberlidge et al., 2009; Lima et al., 2013). We observed one female of T. fluviatilis feeding on a dead adult female of R. ornata on 15th September 2014 at the district of Lidice, municipality of Rio Claro, state of Rio de Janeiro, southeastern Brazil (22.781618°S, 44.232212°W; Altitude ca. 660 a.s.l.). At the previous night, this female was observed in amplexus with a male, during egg-cord oviposition, having several (five to seven) other males emitting advertisement calls on the surroundings, characterizing a reproduction event. On the following night, a couple of R. ornata was found lifeless at the same spot, 30–40 cm apart from each other and mingled to their egg-clutch. The female had its hind limbs eaten by an unidentified predator, and the crab was eating its externalized viscera (Fig. 1). The specimen of T. fluviatilis was collected and deposited in the collection of the Laboratorio de Carcinologia of Museu Nacional/UFRJ (lot MNRJ Herpetology Notes, volume 8: 429-431 (published online on 12 August 2015)
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