Description
Bufo veredas is a small to medium sized toad with males measuring from 87 to 110.7mm SVL and females from 82.8 to 117.8mm SVL. Distinguishing characteristics include the short, narrow head with an anteriorly discontinuous supraocular crest and weak cranial crests; pointed spiculae on the head, dorsum, and robust, short limbs; small to medium size; and bright yellow male coloration.

The head is short and narrow with a rounded snout in both dorsal and lateral views. Nostrils are large, with elliptical openings. The tympanum is well developed. Cranial, pretympanic, rostral and supranasal crests are present but weakly developed. Cranial crests are also keratinized, and have more pigment on the thicker parts. The supraocular crest is interrupted anteriorly (in contrast to the continuous supraocular crest seen in B. rubescens). The postocular crest is more fully developed, though short, and makes contact with the parotoid gland. Parotoid glands are distinct and shaped like a narrow, elongated ellipsoid, with small keratinized spicules. Eyelids also sometimes have small keratinized spicules. Vomerine teeth are lacking. Short robust arms bear hands with short, robust, unwebbed fingers. Although fingers are not webbed, they have slightly developed fringes and the tips are keratinized and pigmented. The first finger is longer than the second, and the relative finger length decreases from 3>1>4>2. Males have nuptial pads on fingers I and II. On the feet, toes are weakly webbed, with dark keratinized tips and a relative toe length decreasing from 4>3>5>2>1. The outer metatarsal tubercle is small and round, while the inner metatarsal tubercle is more elongated and somewhat keratinized. A metatarsal fold is present. The dorsal skin is rough due to numerous rounded glands bearing black, pointed, keratinized spiculae. Glands are less numerous and are smaller on the anterior and posterior limb surfaces. No tibial gland is present. The dorsolateral and ventral surfaces are separated by a glandular dorsolateral ridge that runs from the parotoid gland to the groin. The venter itself is smooth.

In life Bufo veredas shows clear sexual dimorphism in color between males and females. Most males have a bright yellow dorsum (with some having a gray dorsum), with dark points corresponding to the keratinous spiculae and a white immaculate venter. Females have a complex pattern of brownish (ochre) and green to green-bluish on the dorsum. Males generally have more obvious keratinized spiculae than females. In preservative, male specimens become buff and retain their white venters, while females turn pale brown on the dorsum and grayish elsewhere (Sebben et al. 2007).

Newly metamorphosed juveniles exhibit large black and white spots on the chest and belly area, and an orange vent. Tadpoles have not yet been described.

Distribution and Habitat

Country distribution from AmphibiaWeb's database: Brazil

View distribution map in BerkeleyMapper.

A native of Central Brazil, Bufo veredas occupies Cerrado habitats in southwestern Piauí and Bahia states as well as in northwestern Minas Gerais state. This species is endemic to the Brazilian Cerrado biome, preferring open sandy ground chapadas, also known as plane highlands.

Life History, Abundance, Activity, and Special Behaviors
Since 1998 Bufo veredas has been observed only a few times, always at the start of the rainy season in October/November. Individuals are found in open areas: cerrado, campo cerrado, veredas, and campo sujo. Neither mating behavior nor tadpoles have been recorded, though juveniles have been seen in December near wet areas. Syntopic species include Leptodactylus troglodytes, Pleurodema diplolistris, and Physalaemus centralis.

Comments
Bufo veredas is named for "vereda," which is a characteristic cerrado vegetation, defined by the occurrence of buriti palms (Mauritia flexuosa) along small rivers and streams. The name was originally derived from an old Portuguese word that means pathway (vs. cerrado, which means "closed"). The region inhabited by Bufo veredas was the setting of "Grande Sertão: Veredas," by the famous Brazilian author Joao Guimarães Rosa, which inspired the name for the Grande Sertão Veredas National Park, one of the largest remaining tracts of Cerrado. The name of this toad thus simultaneously honors the writer Guimarães Rosa, the Grande Sertão Veredas National Park, and the vereda vegetation.

References

Brandão, R. A., Maciel, N. M., and Sebben, A. (2007). ''A new species of Chaunus from central Brazil (Anura; Bufonidae).'' Journal of Herpetology, 41, 309-316.

Species Account Citation: AmphibiaWeb 2008 Rhinella veredas <https://amphibiaweb.org/species/6927> University of California, Berkeley, CA, USA. Accessed Nov 21, 2024.

Citation: AmphibiaWeb. 2024. <https://amphibiaweb.org> University of California, Berkeley, CA, USA. Accessed 21 Nov 2024.

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