ATTEMPTED PREDATION OF Physalaemus erikae (ANURA, LEPTODACTYLIDAE) BY Xenopholis scalaris (WUCHERER, 1861; COLUMBRIDAE) IN THE SOUTHERN BAHIA, BRAZIL.

Abstract

Interactions between predator and prey are important components for the structuring of terrestrial communities. Anurans are considered the main food item for snakes. Xenopholis scalaris has a wide geographic distribution, occupying the Amazon Forest and Atlantic Forest, inhabiting primary and secondary forests in humid environments. Anurans are one of the main food items that make up its diet. Other studies have reported unsuccessful predation attempts of this species on frogs of the family Leptodactylidae. The frog Physalaemus erikae is an endemic species from the southern region of Bahia state, eastern Brazil, occupying habitats on the edge of the Atlantic Forest, clearings, and cocoa plantations (Cabrucas). The case of the unsuccessful attempt at predation on the species involved in the event described here may be due to the size of the prey and the prey's ability to strongly resist the predator's capture.