During recent fieldwork on the island of Tobago, West Indies, we found the tadpole of the critically endangered Bloody Bay poison frog (Mannophryne olmonae) and describe it here for the first time. Tadpoles were collected in small rock pools or other depressions adjacent to streams. The tadpole is similar to other dendrobatid larvae in many features including a labial tooth row formula of either 2(1)/3 or 2(1–2)/3 and the presence of a dextral vent tube. Our observations suggest no obvious morphological features that unambiguously distinguish the tadpole of M. olmonae from M. trinitatis found on the neighboring island of Trinidad. These results underscore morphological conservatism in the larvae of many dendrobatid frogs.
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1 July 2008
A Description of the Tadpole of Mannophryne olmonae (Anura: Aromobatidae)
Richard M. Lehtinen,
Adrian Hailey
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Caribbean Journal of Science
Vol. 44 • No. 2
2008
Vol. 44 • No. 2
2008
Bloody Bay poison frog
Dendrobatidae
larva
Trinidad and Tobago