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Herpetological Review 46(3), 2015
418 NATURAL HISTORY NOTES
65°N. Our observation demonstrates that maximum sized frogs
can be found not only in the north.
KONSTANTIN D. MILTO (e-mail: coluber@zin.ru) and OLGA S. BEZ-
MAN-MOSEYKO, Zoological Institute, Department of Herpetology, St. Pe-
tersburg, Universitetskaya emb., 1, 199034, Russia.
RHACOPHORUS PARDALIS (Harlequin Tree Frog). DEFENSIVE
BEHAVIOR. Defensive behavior of anuran amphibians was thor-
oughly reviewed in Toledo et al. (2011. Ethol. Ecol. Evol. 23:1–25),
who recognized about 30 types of such behavior. Eye-protection
has been described in a number of species (Toledo et al. 2011, op.
cit.) and here we report this defensive behavior for Rhacophorus
pardalis. Observations were made in the lowland mixed-diptero-
carp rainforest near the Kuala Belalong Field Studies Centre in Ulu
Temburong National Park (Brunei Darussalam; 4.546°N, 115.157°E,
WGS84; 119 m elev.) at 2230 h on 5 February 2015. An adult male
individual (SVL = 52.4 mm) was captured on understory vegeta-
tion (ca. 1.8 m above the forest floor) during a night survey. When
attempting to capture the individual, the frog pressed its body to
the ground, slightly arched its back and raised its forelimbs to its
head. In this position the webbed front limbs completely covered
its eyes and it displayed its red and yellow coloration almost com-
pletely (Fig. 1). The eyes were open and the individual remained
in this position for at least 2 min. During subsequent handling the
back remained arched and it stayed motionless. No defensive call
or smell was emitted. This behavior was observed in one of the
five individuals handled during this field survey. This type of de-
fensive behavior has also been reported from two other treefrogs
in the genus, Rhacophorus feae (Thao Whipping Frog; Duong and
Rowley 2010. Herpetol. Rev. 41:342; Vinh et al. 2013. Herpetol. Rev.
44:129) and Rhacophorus margaritifer (Java Flying Frog; Streicher
et al. 2011. Herpetol. Rev. 42:590).
We are grateful for financial support received (OPVK-
CZ.1.07/2.2.00/28.0149).
ZDENĚK MAČÁT, Department of Ecology and Environmental Scienc-
es, Palacký University in Olomouc, Šlechtitelů 11, 78371, Olomouc, Czech
Republic (e-mail: zdenek.macat@gmail.com); HANYROL H. AHMAD SAH
(e-mail: spanish_novia@yahoo.co.uk) and T. ULMAR GRAFE, Faculty of Sci-
ence, Universiti Brunei Darussalam, Tungku Link, Gadong BE 1410, Brunei
Darussalam (e-mail: grafe@biozentrum.uni-wuerzburg.de).
RHINELLA GR. MARGARITIFERA (Mitred Toad). PREDATION.
Rhinella gr. margaritifera are a species complex of medium-sized
toads that inhabit forest litter, occurring throughout Amazonian
South America to eastern Panama (Frost 2015. http://research.
amnh.org/vz/herpetology/amphibia; 9 Apr 2015). Rhinella
marina is native from south Texas in the United States to southern
Brazil (Lever 2001. The Cane Toad. The History and Ecology of a
Successful Colonist. Westbury Publishing, Otley, West Yorkshire.
230 pp.). During a field expedition to the Serra Azul in western
Pará state, city Monte Alegre, Brazil (1.1787°S, 54.1868°W; WGS84)
Fig. 1. Maximum size Rana temporaria from Sekowiec, Bieszczadzki
National Park, Poland. Coin size = 18.5 mm.
Fig. 1. Rhacophorus pardalis displaying defensive behavior.
Fig. 1. Adult male Rhinella marina preying upon Rhinella gr. mar-
garitifera.
Fig. 2. Rhinella gr. margaritifera released from the mouth of the adult
male of Rhinella marina.