Tungara Frog, Engystomops pustulosus (Family Leptodactyldae)

Above. Foam nest of Engystomops pustulosus.

Paludicola pustulosa Cope, 1864, Proc. Acad. Nat. Sci. Philadelphia, 16:180. Type locality. "New Grenada, on the River Truando", Colombia.

Engystomops pustulosus — Boulenger, 1882, Cat. Batr. Sal. Coll. Brit. Mus., Ed. 2: 276.

Eupemphix trinitatis Boulenger, 1889, Ann. Mag. Nat. Hist., Ser. 6, 3: 307. Type locality. "Trinidad . . . in the Gardens".

Eupemphix pustulosa trinitatis — Parker, 1933, Trop. Agric., Trinidad, 10: 8-12.

Type locality: New Grenada, on the River Truando, Colombia. It ranges from Mexico to Colombia and Venezuela and is usually an abundant lowland species (although it can be found as high as 900 m ASL) that uses savanna as well as disturbed and natural forest. It occurs in Belize, Colombia, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, México, Nicaragua, Panamá, Trinidad and Tobago, Venezuela.

Males reach at least 30 mm, females are slightly larger. The skin is brown-grey and warty, making it likely to be mistaken for a toad. It is often in the vicinity of ponds, including puddles that accumulate in roadside ditches and tire tracks. Males call after dark while they float in the water. Eggs are deposited in foam nests, often under vegetation or debris, in pools. Foam nests prevent egg desiccation and protect the tadpoles. This is one of the most common amphibians in the islands.

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