Nest site selection, larval hatching, and advertisement calls, of Rana arathooni from southwestern Sulawesi (Celebes) Island, Indonesia

We provide information on the basic reproductive ecology, chorusing behaviors, and advertisement calls of Rana arathooni from southwestern Sulawesi, Indonesia. Nest sites in leaf litter and wet detritus are congregated on the steep banks of large, rapidly flowing mountain streams. When disturbed, hatchlings break free of the egg capsule and tumble down rocks or slide down muddy banks to the water below. The combination of choice of steep banks as nest sites and unusual behavior of the larvae suggests an unusual predator escape strategy. Larvae may avoid aquatic predators by extending development period on land but can rapidly evade predation and escape to the water below when threatened by terrestrial predators. Males form small choruses, with most individuals calling from under leaf litter and within the nest The advertisement call of Rana arathooni is unusually complex and invariant and call structure is unique in that modulation of amplitude and frequency are inversely correlated.