Alsophis portoricensis can inject the secretion of its Duvernoy's gland (=venom) into its prey, constrict it, or swallow it alive. We studied the differences in prey-handling behavior of Alsophis portoricensis when feeding on two of its natural prey species, the lizard Anolis cristatellus and the frog Eleutherodactylus coqui. Subduing time was higher for lizards, but swallowing and handling tim...

Coral reefs are one of the most diverse habitats in the world, yet our understanding of the processes affecting their biodiversity is limited. At the local scale, cleaner fish are thought to have a disproportionate effect, in relation to their abundance and size, on the activity of many other fish species, but confirmation of this species' effect on local fish diversity has proved elusive. The ...

Direct development is a common reproductive mode in living amphibians characterized by absence of the free-living, aquatic larval stage. In Eleutherodactylus, a species-rich genus of New World frogs, evolution of direct development from the ancestral biphasic ontogeny is correlated with a comprehensive modification in embryonic cranial patterning, including the loss of many larval-specific comp...

We studied the herpetofaunal community from the Atlantic forest of Morro São João, in Rio de Janeiro State, Brazil, and present data on species composition, richness, relative abundance and densities. We combined three sampling methods: plot sampling, visual encounter surveys and pit-fall traps. We recorded sixteen species of amphibians and nine of reptiles. The estimated densities (based on re...

A new Eleutherodactylus, E. ernesti, is described from the peak (3900 m) of Volcan Sumaco, Napo Province, Ecuador. This species is characterized by a glandular, pitted dorsal skin with heavy, glandular dorsolateral ridges, densely-warted flanks, small circular patches of glands in the axilla, groin, and on the rear thigh, a concave canthus and loreal region, a snout in profile that is dorsally ...

The abundance and species diversity of tabanids were evaluated by trapping of insects using Vavoua traps, during the rainy season, from October 4 to November 30, 2009, in three different habitats: primary forest, secondary forest and village, in the biosphere reserve Ipassa-IRET Makokou in Gabon. Eight species belonging to three genera of tabanids have been identified for a total of 402 specime...

One of the most notorious examples of cooperation between different species happens in the cleaner-client fish mutualism. The best known cleaner fish species, the bluestreak Indo-Pacific cleaner wrasse Labroides dimidiatus has been a model system to study the evolution of cooperation between unrelated animals and between distinct species during the last couple of decades. Given that the cleaner...

Mimicry often involves a protective element, whereby the risk of predation on mimics is reduced owing to their resemblance to unpalatable models. However, protection from predation has so far seemed unimportant in aggressive mimicry, where mimics are usually predators rather than prey. Here, we demonstrate that bluestriped fangblennies (Plagiotremus rhinorhynchos), which are aggressive mimics o...