Taxonomy

Species ID	021090
Name	Sheep frog
Other Common Names
Category	02 Amphibians
Phylum
Subphylum
Class	Amphibia
Subclass
Suborder
Family	Microhylidae
Genus	Hypopachus
Species	variolosus
Subspecies
References	2
Scientific Synonyms	Engystoma variolsum, Cope, 1866

Distribution

DISTRICT	References
Belize, Belize	1
Cayo, Belize	1
Corozal, Belize	1
Orange Walk, Belize	1
Stann Creek, Belize	1

Administrative Unit	Occurrence	Abundance	Temporal	References
Gallon Jug	Photographed	Unknown, insufficient data	February	3
Government land				1
Shipstern Nature Reserve				1
Rio Bravo Conservation Area				1
Gallon Jug				1
Private land, see comments				1
Monkey Bay Wildlife Sanctuary (Private)				1
Slate Creek Preserve				1
Cockscomb Basin Wildlife Sanctuary				1

ELEVATION Association	References
1-200 m	3

QUAD Distribution	References
17 30' to 17 45'; 89 00' to 89 15'	3
17 30' to 17 45'; 89 00' to 89 15'	1
18 15' to 18 30'; 88 15' to 88 30'	1
17 15' to 17 30'; 88 30' to 88 45'	1
17 00' to 17 15'; 88 45' to 89 00'	1
18 15' to 18 30'; 88 00' to 88 15'	1
16 45' to 17 00'; 88 15' to 88 30'	1
18 00' to 18 15'; 88 30' to 88 45'	1
17 45' to 18 00'; 89 00' to 89 15'	1

Holdridge Life Zone Distribution	References
Subtropical moist	3

Comments on Distribution

3* Miller, C.M. (1990). Natural history voucher photograph collection,
   Gallon Jug.
2* Sheep frogs occur at low and moderate elevations from southern Texas and
   Sonora south to Costa Rica. They probably occur throughout the Yucatan
   Peninsula, although there are no records from southern Belize.

Graphics

Pictures

Habitat Associations

Food Habits

Comments on General Food Habits

2* They feed on invertebrates, especially ants (Dundee and Liner, 1985a:109) and termites.

References/Lifestage	Reference Numbers
General	2

Environmental Associations

References/Lifestage	Reference Numbers

Life History

Life History Narrative

This terrestrial and fossorial frog is widespread and common in the Yucatan Peninsula in both forested and more open situations, although it is apparently most abundant in the latter. Individuals are commonly found in breeding congregations, which generally form at temporary bodies of water. Often sheep frogs can be found at night on roads after heavy rains; otherwise, they sequester themselves beneath surface debris and in burrows of other animals or of their own construction. They feed on invertebrates, especially ants (Dundee and Liner, 1985a:109) and termites. During the rainy season, males call from temporary bodies of water such as roadside ditches, flooded pastures, and limestone sinkholes, usually from the water's surface. Amplexus is axially, and the eggs are deposited directly into the water, where the larvae develop. They occasionally oviposit in aboveground tree hollows, at least in Costa Rica, where McDiarmid and Foster (1975:264) found a single tadpole of H. variolosus in a hollow nearly a meter above the forest floor.

Life History References

2

Management Practices

References/Result	Reference Numbers

References

1  Meerman, J., 1994. Summary of Herpetofauna Distributions in Belize.
   Report to National Protected Areas Management Project.

2  Lee, Julian C. 1996.  The Amphibians and Reptiles of the Yucatan
   Peninsula.  Comstock Publishing Associates. Ithaca, New York.

3  Miller, C.M. 1990.  Natural history voucher photograph collection.