Download Osteopilus septentrionalis Duméril and Bibron, 1841

Osteopilus septentrionalis Duméril
and Bibron, 1841
The Cuban treefrog, Osteopilus septentrionalis is a voracious,
nocturnal predator that eats any prey that it can grab, including
members of its own species, other frogs, lizards, insects, spiders,
and small snakes.
The Cuban treefrog is native to Cuba, the Bahamas and the
Cayman Islands. It has been introduced to Puerto Rico, the US
Virgin Islands, the British Virgin Islands, the Turks and Caicos
Islands, the Florida Keys and mainland Florida, Hawaii, Anguilla,
the French part of St Martin, St Barthelemy, and Limon in Costa
Rica (Hedges et al, 2008).
The Cuban treefrog occurs from sea level up to 1,110m asl and
has a tolerance for a wide range of habitats. It can live in mesic
habitats but may also be found in xeric habitats. It can tolerate
brackish water and lives in forests, mangroves and coastal areas
(Hedges et al, 2008).
Recent increases in shipping and trade, and demands for nonregional produce and landscaping and building materials
have enabled the dispersal and invasion of the Cuban treefrog
(Platenberg, 2007). High fecundity, a short larval period, broad
diet, open habitat, and dietary niches allows this species to
establish successful widespread population in situations that
seem less than ideal for supporting it (Townsend et al, 2000).
The species behaves like a hyper-predator and competes with
native species (Breuil & Ibéné, 2004), primarily through predation
and competition. The dramatic decline in populations of the
‘Near Threatened (NT)’ Martinique hylode (Eleutherodactylus
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Photo credit: Wikimedia Commons (User: Cary Bass)
martinicensis) at Anse des Cayes between 1996 and 2000 is
probably due to predation by this tree frog, which actually consumes
hylodes (Breuil, pers. Comm., 2000). Cuban treefrog tadpoles are
also carnivorous and are known to eat other tadpoles (Babbitt and
Meshaka 2000). It might also be a vector for pathogens.
References:
Babbitt, K. and Meshaka, W. 2000. Benefits of eating conspecifics: effects of background diet
on survival and metamorphosis in the Cuban treefrog (Osteopilus septentrionalis). Copeia 2000:
469–474.
Blair Hedges, Luis Díaz, Beatrice Ibéné, Rafael Joglar, Robert Powell, Federico Bolaños, Gerardo
Chaves 2008. Osteopilus septentrionalis. In: IUCN 2010. IUCN Red List of Threatened Species
Breuil, M. & Ibéné, B. 2004. Les Hylides invasifs dans les Antilles françaises et le peuplement
batrachologique naturel. Bull. Soc. Herpetol. Fr, 10 p.
Platenberg, Renata, J., 2007. Impacts Of Introduced Species On An Island Ecosystems: NonNative Reptiles and Amphibians in the US Virgin Islands. Managing Vertebrate Invasive Species:
Proceedings of an International Symposium (G. W. Witmer, W. C. Pitt, K. A. Fagerstone, Eds)
USDA/APHIS/WS, National Wildlife Research Center, Fort Collins, CO. 2007
Townsend, Josiah H; Eaton, James M; Powell, Robert; Parmerlee, John S., Jr; Henderson, Robert
W., 2000. Cuban Treefrogs (Osteopilus septentrionalis) in Anguilla, Lesser Antilles. Caribbean
Journal of Science. 36(3-4). December, 2000. 326-32