The call of Rhinella festae (Peracca, 1904) (Anura: Bufonidae) from Morona Santiago, Ecuador

Abstract

We describe for the first time the call of Rhinella festae (Peracca, 1904), recording it in captivity inside a plastic bag. The call is composed of 1 to 2 multi-pulsed notes (2–5 pulses), has an average duration of 0.72 s, and a dominant frequency of 1.40 kHz. This species is characterized by the absence of vocal slits and sacs, so the emission of this call would be considered unusual and uncommon. In addition to the purpose of improving the knowledge of species suggested as mutes, we have also compiled information from other anuran species that emit sounds with the absence of these anatomical structures.

Keywords

• acoustic communication
• vocal slits
• vocal sacs
• mute
• ex situ