Bioacoustics of Eleutherodactylus cattus

Distribution. This species is only known from the type locality but assuming it has specialized to high elevations like its sister taxon, Eleutherodactylus glamyrus , it could well be found in neighboring areas above 800 m a.s.l.. Natural history. Field data indicate that Eleutherodactylus cattus is a nocturnal species that inhabits the montane rainforests and elfin woodlands above 800 m a.s.l., in areas of Loma del Gato-Monte Líbano Ecological Reserve, in the Sierra del Cobre massif, Santiago de Cuba province , in eastern Cuba . In this region, the mean monthly air temperature is 18.4 °C with minimal and maximum mean values around to 15.7 °C and 22.4 °C, respectively. Mean monthly relative humidity is high year round, and ranges between 87–92%, the mean annual precipitation is 1.220 mm , with May and October being the rainiest months ( Potrony, et al. , 1994 ; Reyes, 1999 ). Males of Eleutherodactylus cattus were observed calling in the vegetation at 1.16 ± 0.47m (mean ± SD; range: 0.50–2.20 m ) above the ground in the understory ( Figure 5 C). This forest stratum is dense and rich in shrubs and herbaceous plants, with ferns, liverworts, mosses and terrestrial orchids ( Figure 5 D). Calling males were heard in three nearby localities in Loma El Gato, between 844–1070 m a.s.l (ascent trail on the northern slope of Pico El Gato, 844 m a.s.l; surroundings of Loma de la Cruz, 1070 m a.s.l.; and Loma de La Juana, 900 m a.s.l). E. cattus showed an apparent acoustic activity peak at dusk (between 19:00–21:00 hrs) and shortly before dawn (5:00– 6:30hrs). Calling males appear to show preference for exposed surfaces of leaves and ferns, but they can call at different orientations, facing down or horizontally. At least another eight species of Eleutherodactylus are known to occur in sympatry with E. cattus in the surroundings of the type locality: Eleutherodactylus atkinsi Dunn , E. auriculatus , E. cuneatus (Cope) , E. dimidiatus (Cope) , E. gundlachi Schmidt , E. ionthus Schwartz , E. limbatus (Cope) , E. ricordii (Duméril and Bibron) , plus the hylid Osteopilus septentrionalis (Duméril and Bibron) . Two species of the Eleutherodactylus auriculatus species group, E. ionthus and E. auriculatus ( Hedges, et al. , 2008 ; Padial, et al. , 2014 ) were heard and observed vocalizing simultaneously with E. cattus at the type locality. The first species, E. ionthus , vocalizes from high perches (above three meters) on the arboreal stratum often on epiphytic plants ( Bromeliaceae ). This species produces a very different advertisement call in terms of temporal and spectral structure (Hedges et al. , 1992; Díaz and Cádiz, 2008 ). The second species, E. auriculatus , uses similar calling sites (substrates and heights) in the understory as E. cattus , but the acoustic features of its advertisement call are distinctly different (e.g. faster call rate, shorter call duration and higher dominant frequency), as already noted by Estrada and Hedges (1997) .

Diagnosis. A small species of Eleutherodactylus that can be assigned to the subgenus Eleutherodactylus based on its genetic, acoustic, and morphological similarities with members of the E. auriculatus species group ( Hedges, et al. , 2008 ; Rodríguez, et al. , 2010b ). It is most closely related to E. glamyrus with which it shares several morphological, ecological, and behavioral features. However, males of Eleutherodactylus cattus can be readily differentiated from E. glamyrus by their larger size (SVL = 23.1–24.7 mm in E. cattus vs 17.4–21.3 mm in E. glamyrus ) and the following combination of advertisement call features: longer duration (call duration = 128.4– 243.1 ms in E. cattus vs 47.2–112 ms in E. glamyrus ), longer rise time (call rise time = 16–173.7 ms in E. cattus vs 1.9–32.2 ms in E. glamyrus ), lower dominant frequency (dominant frequency = 3036.2–3337.6 Hz in E. cattus vs 3006–3799.6 Hz in E. glamyrus ), and greater frequency modulation (frequency modulation = 140.9–332.8 Hz in E. cattus vs 73.2–262.3 Hz in E. glamyrus ). Additionally, E. cattus differs from E. glamyrus in the studied mitochondrial DNA sequences by 8.2% ( cob ) and 3.2% ( 16S ) and by one substitution in the nuclear Rag-1 gene (see results).