Vocal repertoire of two species of Oreobates Jiménez de la Espada, 1872 (Anura: Strabomantidae) of the Yungas Andean Forest, NW Argentina

Abstract

The vocal repertoire of males of two cryptic species of Oreobates and interpretation of the communicative significance of vocalizations were studied under natural conditions in Yungas Andean Forest ofNWArgentina. Males of O. discoidalis and O. barituensis showed remarkable territorial behaviour defending their calling sites against conspecific males through both aggressive vocalizations and fights involving physical contact. The vocal repertoire of both species consists of at least three different call types. Two of these vocalizations, advertisement calls and territorial calls were utilized in long-range territorial interactions, and aggressive calls were utilized in close-range male-male territorial interactions. This represents the first report of a complex repertoire of vocalizations in the genus Oreobates.