Description
Ameerega braccata has finely granulated skin; fingers with small disks, first finger larger than the second; the back has a dark brown coloration
with pale brown and yellow spots (some specimens lack points), two dorsolateral stripes white yellowish to yellow, extending from the tip of the muzzle
to the groin; whitish stripes on the upper lips extending below the nostrils to the armpits; dorsolateral streaks turn orange to reddish orange, flash
marks that extend to the lower surfaces of the thighs; orange to orange red marks are also present in the proximal half of the undersurface of the tibia
and behind the armpits; the surfaces of the upper limbs are of brown coloration with dark irregular transverse stripes; the belly presents a white-brown
coloration with small black spots scattered in the ventrolateral region.
Diagnosis
Ameerega braccata differs from
Ameerega picta and
Ameerega hahneli by having a dark brown back (instead of the deep black color),
by the lack of bluish marble color in the belly and by a more robust body.
Ameerega flavopicta differs from
A.braccata by presenting the
upper limbs of brown limbs with darker transverse streaks (instead of black with bright yellow dots), brownish-white-colored belly with scattered black
dots (instead of yellowish-white with black marble), by relatively large eyes and smaller eardrums and by their smaller size.
Ameerega hahneli is also distinguished
by having more robust limbs, dorsolateral white to yellowish (instead of white) dorsolateral stripes, and larger, orange-reddish marks in
the groin (instead of yellow).
Ameerega picta also differs by keeping dark bands on the upper surfaces of the limbs and by having small toes on the feet.
Size
Adult males are in a range of 20.3 to 25.2 mm of snout-cloaca length and females with a measurement of 23.5 to 29.1 mm larger than males.
Sexual dimorphism
Sexual dimorphism is exhibited only by males which are smaller than females.
Natural history
It is an understory frog that is totally diurnal. The courtship occurs when the male begins to vocalize to attract the female;
and when the female approaches a tactile and visual communication, then the male should guide the female to the place of oviposition,
according to Forti et al. determined that the oviposition site can be located 24 meters from the initial point;
the eggs are deposited on the litter or in burrows, being able to deposit up to 60 eggs. A male can carry 7 tadpoles on the back to small pools of water.
Geografic distribution
Ameerega braccata is distributed in the locality type Chapada dos Guimaraes of two localities near Aquidauana and Santa Rita do Araguaia in Brazil.
It is at an elevation of 250 to 650 masl.
distribution by IUCN
Conservation Status
LC - least concern
Note
An examination of two populations by Forti el. al. demonstrated significant feeding specialization within the species, in the first group the stomach contents were almost 94% ants by volume, and in the second group 65% was termites, with only 29% ants.
References
Haddad, C. F., Martins, M. 1994. Four Species of Brazilian Poison Frogs Related to Epipedobates Pictus (Dendrobatidae): taxonomy and Natural History Observations. Herpetologica 50: 282-295.
Frost, D. R., Grant, T., Faivovich, J., Bain, R., Günther, A. C., Haas, A., Haddad, C. F., de Sá, R., Donnellan, S. C., Raxworthy, C. J., Wilkinson, M., Channing, A., Campbell, J. A., Blotto, B. L., Moler, P., Drewes, R. C., Nussbaum, R. A., Lynch, J. D., Green, D. y Wheeler, W. C. 2006. The amphibian tree of life. Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History 297:370.
Forti, L. R., Mott, T., Strüssmann, C. 2013. Breeding biology of Ameerega braccata (Steindachner, 1864) (Anura: Dendrobatidae) in the Cerrado of Brazil. Journal of Natural History, DOI:10.1080/00222933.2013.773099.
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