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Herpetological Review 35(4): 406; 2004
© 2004 by Society for the Study of Amphibians and Reptiles
RANA CATESBEIANA (Bullfrog). ECUADOR: PROVINCIA
DE NAPO: Carretera Puyo-Tena, ca. 50 km (by road) from Puyo
(ca. 77º50’W, 01º08’S, ca. 400 m). 18 March 2000. D. F.
Cisneros-Heredia, M. Brandt, A. Chiriboga, G. Reck. Universidad
San Francisco de Quito, Quito (DFCH-USFQ 750; juvenile active
at 1830 h in flooded grassland, ca. 100 m from an abandoned
bullfrog farm). Verified by J. M. Touzet. Rana catesbeiana was
introduced to Ecuador in 1988 with the importation of 100 adults
and 70.000 tadpoles for commercial purposes; and although
initially the bullfrog farms were located in western Ecuador, now
they are spread along the western and eastern lowlands (ECOLAP.
1998. El Manejo para la Protección y el Uso Sustentable de la
Vida Silvestre en el Ecuador. Proyecto INEFAN/GEF act. 20,
Quito; Cano et al. 2000. In: La Biodiversidad del Ecuador Informe
2000. Ministerio del Ambiente, EcoCiencia and IUCN.). Specimen
reported herein is the first of this alien taxon from outside of farms.
This record and observations in the surroundings of Bahía de
Caráquez (ca. 80º20’W, 00º40’S, ca. 8 m), province of Manabí,
confirm that Bullfrogs are escaping and probably establishing feral
populations in Ecuador (tadpoles and amplectant pairs were
observed in ditches at the locality in the province of Napo).
Submitted by DIEGO F. CISNEROS-HEREDIA, College of
Biological and Environmental Sciences, Universidad San Fran-
cisco de Quito, Ave. Interoceánica y calle Diego de Robles, Cam-
pus Cumbayá, Edif. Maxwell. Casilla Postal 17-12-841, Quito,
Ecuador. e-mail: diegofrancisco_cisneros@yahoo.com.
Herpetological Review 35(4), 2004