The Herpetological Journal

pp. 245-253
Authors: Van Ngo, Binh; Lee & Ngo, Chung Dac

Abstract: The granular spiny frog, Quasipaa verrucospinosa (Bourret, 1937), is native to Vietnam and classified as Near Threatened due to environmental degradation, loss of forest and stream habitats and human exploitation. We collected stomach contents of Q. verrucospinosa using a nonlethal stomach-flushing technique from three stream sites in the rain forests of Thù;a ThiênHuê Province, central Vietnam, to investigate their food habits. Dietary analysis identified 2645 prey items of 27 orders and nine classes. Prey comprised mainly invertebrates, but also fishes, frogs and conspecific sub-adults. The major prey items as determined by frequency of occurrence, item count and percent volume were spiders, beetles, crabs, hymenopterans, grasshoppers, crickets and cicadas. Insects alone accounted for an importance value of 59.8%. The mean monthly prey volume consumed was positively and negatively correlated to temperature and rainfall, respectively. Consistent with the increased energetic needs prior to the main breeding season, the number of prey items and volume of prey consumed per frog were highest in the little rainy season. The volume of prey consumed was positively correlated with snout-vent length and mouth width of frogs, supporting the gape limitation hypothesis. Despite their larger size, however, females did not consume greater numbers of prey items or larger-sized prey than males. Adults consumed a higher diversity of prey and higher proportions of Araneae and Hemiptera than sub-adults, whereas females had a more even diet than males and consumed a higher proportion of Orthoptera.

Keywords: FROGS, VIETNAM, FEEDING, STOMACH CONTENT, ANURA, DIET, QUASIPAA VERRUCOSPINOSA