PREDATION OF THE YELLOW TREEFROG (Dendropsophus microcephalus) BY THE TROPICAL WOLF SPIDER (Ancylometes bogotensis)

Fred Fernando Jiménez Salinas; Lucía Isabel López; José Manuel Mora

doi:10.22201/fc.25942158e.2026.3.1756

Autores/as

Fred Fernando Jiménez Salinas Universidad Técnica Nacional
Lucía Isabel López Universidad Técnica Nacional https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0120-7981
José Manuel Mora Universidad Técnica Nacional https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1200-1495

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.22201/fc.25942158e.2026.3.1756

Palabras clave:

anfibios, depredación por artrópodos,, dinámica depredador-presa,, hábitat rivereño, Neotrópico

Resumen

The Yellow Treefrog (Dendropsophus microcephalus) is a small hylid distributed from Mexico to northern South America. It inhabits open and disturbed habitats near wetlands, where males call from low vegetation during breeding activity. Large wandering spiders of the genus Ancylometes are increasingly recognized as important predators of small vertebrates, including amphibians. Here, we report a case of predation of D. microcephalus by the Tropical Wolf Spider Ancylometes bogotensis in a humid transitional zone of the Tropical Dry Forest within Zona Protectora Andrómeda, Atenas, Alajuela, Costa Rica. This record expands the known prey spectrum of A. bogotensis and supports growing evidence that spiders are ecologically relevant predators of adult anurans in Neotropical freshwater and forest-edge habitats. Such interactions may contribute to structuring amphibian communities.

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