Diet of Leptodactylus spixi (Anura: Leptodactylidae) from a cacao plantation in southern Bahia, Brazil

We studied the diet of Leptodactylus spixi from a cacao plantation in southern Bahia, Brazil. A total of 109 frogs were manually collected between December 2006 and October 2007 and analysed using a stomach flushing method. Of these, 69 stomachs revealed 168 prey items. Acarina, Orthoptera and Formicidae were the most abundant items, while Orthoptera, Diplopoda and Hemiptera were the most important in terms of frequency of occurrence. With more than 50% of total prey volume and the highest Index of Relative Importance, Orthoptera was considered the dominating prey category for this species in the studied area. The comparison between available potential prey in the environment and diet revealed that L. spixi fed on most present invertebrates. Electivity values were highest for orthopterans, gastropods and dermapterans. We conclude that L. spixi can be considered a “sit-and-wait” predator and also a generalist consuming what is available in the environment.