Description
Hypsiboas curupi is a robust, medium-sized tree frog, with males measuring 29.0-43.4mm in SVL and females 41.3-47.0mm. The snout is dorsally rounded with a moderately curved canthus rostralis. The nostrils appear protuberant, oval, and lateral. Eyes are moderate in size and situated both laterally and slightly anteriorly, with horizontal pupils. The tympanum is distinct and a supratympanic fold is present. The tongue is free, notched posteriorly, and covers approximately 2/3 of the floor of the mouth. There are two sets of vomerine teeth organized in transverse series, and both bear five distinct teeth between and posterior to the choanae. Limbs are generally long and robust (forearms are hypertrophied). Fingers are moderately fringed with medium-sized discs; digits increase in length from I,II,IV,III; and hand webbing is present (pattern follows I-II 2-3 III 3-2 IV). Legs are generally slender and long, with the thigh slightly longer than the tibia. The tarsal fold is weakly developed, beginning from the internal metatarsal tubercle and extending to the tibio-tarsal articulation. Foot is small, but toes are robust with well developed discs. The inner metatarsal tubercle is oval shaped and well developed, but the outer metatarsal tubercle is lacking. Single subarticular tubercles and supernumerary tarsal tubercles are both present. Dorsal and lateral skin surfaces appear smooth; ventral skin surface is finely granular. Males exhibit a single, median subgular vocal sac and have large vocal slits located laterally under the tongue (Garcia et al. 2007).

In life Hypsiboas curupi has a coffee-brown dorsum and a creamy yellow ventrum with a darker throat. Three small, dark, elongated vertebral blotches run along the posterior part of the body: one at the sacrum, and the other two at the urostyle. A thin white stripe runs from behind the eyes to the inguinal region, which is bordered by a brown stripe of variable width. Another white stripe runs along the lip, extending from the tip of the snout to the insertion of the arm. A brown canthal stripe extends from the eye through the nostril to the tip of the snout. Flanks show small white blotches. Inner tibiae with five round spots. Bones are green. Iris is golden, with the upper half slightly lighter in shade (Garcia et al. 2007).

In preservative, the dorsum turns dark beige with dark vertebral blotches, and the venter lightens to a yellowish cream (Garcia et al. 2007).

The Hypsiboas curupi tadpole differs from those known of the H. pulchellus group by having complete marginal papillae lacking a rostral gap, and a labial tooth-row formula of 3(1,3)/5(1) (Garcia et al. 2007).

Distribution and Habitat

Country distribution from AmphibiaWeb's database: Argentina

View distribution map in BerkeleyMapper.

Hypsiboas curupi is endemic to Misiones, northeastern Argentina around elevations of 300 to 700m. The ideal vegetative habitat is seasonal forest and Araucaria forest in Atlantic Forest Domain. The dispersal pattern seems to be correlated with the basins of the Paraná and Uruguai rivers. In Brazil, it might be present in the state of Paraná, but there are no records yet (Garcia et al. 2007).

Life History, Abundance, Activity, and Special Behaviors
Males were found calling in December, January, and February (Garcia et al. 2007). Males show scars on the dorsum, thought to be from wounds caused by prepollical spines used in male-male territorial combat. Males called from vegetation on the edges or backwaters of shallow streams in dense forests, or while partially submerged in water (Carrizo 1991; Garcia et al. 2007). Males begin to vocalize at dusk (Garcia et al. 2007). This species calls infrequently with simple notes and long pauses (Garcia et al. 2007). Carrizo (1991) observed that where males are present in high density, a chorus eventually forms. Advertisement calls consist of one, occasionally two, multipulsed notes with a frequency range of 1.0-3.03 kHz and a dominant frequency of 1.2-2.2 kHz (Garcia et al. 2007). Clutches were laid in water, stuck to vegetation or rocks (Carrizo et al. 1991). One clutch was found to have a clump of 263 eggs stuck together by their individual jelly capsules (Garcia et al. 2007). Eggs have a pigmented animal pole. Tadpoles were found over the same time period as calling males (December-February), and inhabit clear streams in forested areas (Garcia et al. 2007).

When handled, Hypsiboas curupi are reported to release a distinctive smell, similar to that of wet grass (Garcia et al. 2007).

Syntopic species include Aplastodiscus perviridias and Crossodactylus schmidti (Garcia et al. 2007).

Comments
The specific name is derived from the term for a mythological creature, the Curupi or Curipira (NE Argentina), or Kurupira (Brazil), which lives in the forest and protects the forest inhabitants (Garcia et al. 2007).

References

Carrizo, G. R. (1990). ''Sobre los hílidos de Misiones, Argentina, con la descripción de una nueva especie, Hyla caingua n. sp. (Anura, Hylidae).'' Cuadernos de Herpetología, Tucumán, 5, 32-39.

Garcia, P. C. A., Faivovich, J. N., and Haddad, C. F. B. (2007). ''Redescription of Hypsiboas semiguttatus, with the description of a new species of the Hypsiboas pulchellus group.'' Copeia, 2007, 933-949.

Species Account Citation: AmphibiaWeb 2009 Boana curupi <https://amphibiaweb.org/species/7070> University of California, Berkeley, CA, USA. Accessed Nov 30, 2024.

Citation: AmphibiaWeb. 2024. <https://amphibiaweb.org> University of California, Berkeley, CA, USA. Accessed 30 Nov 2024.

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