#brachycephalus

Rotenberg’s Pumpkin Toadlet (Brachycephalus rotenbergae), family Brachcephalidae, endemic to the Mantiqueira Mountains of Atlantic coastal Brazil

Poisonous.

Recently described (2021)

This is a tiny toad, with a max. length (SVL) of up to 1.8 cm.

A pumpkin toadlet (Brachycephalus ephippium) in Pindamonhangaba, Brazil

Brachycephalus is a genus of miniaturized frogs that live in the forest leaf litter and are most active during daylight.

Commonly known as pumpkin toadlets, these frogs are endemic to the Brazilian Atlantic Forest, eastern Brazil, and are spread along almost 1,700 km, from Santa Catarina to southern Bahia states. Regardless of genus distribution, most species occur in restricted lowlands or mountains areas, where some representatives seem to occupy less than 100 ha of area.

The newfound species, named Brachycephalus rotenbergae, inhabits the south Mantiqueira mountain range and the semidecidual forests in the municipalities of Mogi das Cruzes, Campinas and Jundiaí, in the Brazilian state of São Paulo.

Adult males are between 1.35 and 1.6 cm long and females are between 1.6 and 1.8 cm.

“Brachycephalus rotenbergae’s colors may work as a camouflage in their microhabitat, since there are great amounts of tiny yellow and orange leaves, mushrooms and seeds on the ground, especially during the active season,” the researchers said. “Together, these elements make the specimens’ bright colors not as conspicuous as they may seem.”

Males usually hold a territory for advertisements by acoustical and visual signals.

“We detected gaping defensive behavior in three specimens that were manipulated, and we saw them opening their mouths widely,” the scientists said. “The gaping and the flee away strategies were the two defensive displays that Brachycephalus rotenbergae presented during our study.”

If a frog cries in the forest, sometimes even the frog can’t hear it.

Such is the sad fate of two species of pumpkin toadlets—Brachycephalus ephippium and B. pitanga—that live in Brazil’s Atlantic Forest.

Red Pumpkin Toadlet (Brachycephalus pitanga), family Brachycephalidae, endemic to Atlantic Rainforest in Sao Paolo State, SE Brazil

Poisonous.

As with other Brachycephalus sp., they lay a few eggs in moist terrestrial locations, and the young live as tadpoles in the eggs, and then hatch out as froglets.

Adults reach a max. snout vent length of up to 14 mm (0.55 in).

They are actually unable to hear their own advertisement calls, as their ears are underdeveloped.

They also do not hop, but instead slowly crawl across the forest floor.

Rotenberg’s Pumpkin Toadlet (Brachycephalus rotenbergae), family Brachcephalidae, endemic to the Mantiqueira Mountains of Atlantic coastal Brazil

Poisonous.

Recently described (2021)

This is a tiny toad with a max. length (SVL) of up to 1.8 cm.