First report of reproduction in captivity of the La Banderita marsupial frog from the Amphibian Rescue and Research Center at the Horco Molle Experimental Reserve

Abstract

In 2018, the La Banderita marsupial frog (Gastrotheca gracilis)project was created with the aim of contributing to the conservation of this endangered species (IUCN SSC Amphibian SpecialistGroup 2019). This project was initiated by the scarcity of recordsof occurrence from its historical localities (Akmentins et al 2012),and originally aimed to supplement the populations of this species in the Reserva Provincial Los Sosa, Tucumán province,in Argentina. Given that the tadpole was identified as the mostvulnerable stage to the threats detected for the species, tadpoleswere collected from the field and then kept in captivity until theyreached metamorphosis at the Amphibian Rescue and ResearchCenter at the Horco Molle Experimental Reserve (CRÍA-REHM),of the National University of Tucumán. After a period of quarantineand preventive treatment for chytridiomycosis with standardisedItraconazole baths, the juveniles were returned to their naturalenvironment at the same collection site. Given that captive breeding and research is one of the main objectives of our team and,considering the lack of information on the biology life cycle of thismarsupial frog, our project represents an excellent opportunity todeepen our knowledge of the biology of the species.