Vol. 20 No. 2 (2025)
Short Note

Shadowboxing salamanders: Defensive behavior in two Amazonian Bolitoglossa species (Amphibia: Plethodontidae)

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  • Daniela Pareja-Mejía,
  • Omar Rojas-Padilla,
  • Madison Lacey,
  • Mylena Masache-Sarango,
  • Mirco Solé,
  • Lauren A. O'Connell
Daniela Pareja-Mejía
Graduate Program in Zoology, Universidade Estadual de Santa Cruz, Ilhéus, Bahia, Brazil
Omar Rojas-Padilla
Graduate Program in Zoology, Universidade Estadual de Santa Cruz, Ilhéus, Bahia, Brazil
Madison Lacey
Department of Biology, Stanford University, Stanford, California, USA
Mylena Masache-Sarango
Museo de Zoología, Pontificia Universidad Católica del Ecuador, Quito, Ecuador
Mirco Solé
Graduate Program in Zoology, Universidade Estadual de Santa Cruz, Ilhéus, Bahia, Brazil
Lauren A. O'Connell
Department of Biology, Stanford University, Stanford, California, USA
DOI: https://doi.org/10.36253/a_h-18622

Published 2025-10-09

Keywords

  • Antipredator behavior,
  • defensive display,
  • Plethodontidae

How to Cite

Pareja-Mejía, D., Rojas-Padilla, O., Lacey, M., Masache-Sarango, M., Solé, M., & O’Connell, L. A. (2025). Shadowboxing salamanders: Defensive behavior in two Amazonian Bolitoglossa species (Amphibia: Plethodontidae). Acta Herpetologica, 20(2), 275–278. https://doi.org/10.36253/a_h-18622

Copyright (c) 2025 Daniela Pareja-Mejía, Omar Rojas-Padilla, Madison Lacey, Mylena Masache-Sarango, Mirco Solé, Lauren A. O'Connell

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

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Abstract

Salamanders employ diverse anti-predator strategies, yet many tropical species remain poorly documented. We describe a previously unreported defensive display in two Amazonian plethodontids, Bolitoglossa equatoriana and B. altamazonica. During nocturnal surveys in the Apayacu Reserve, Ecuador, an individual of B. equatoriana perched on a leaf performed a striking “shadowboxing” display when illuminated: it repeatedly raised and waved its forelimbs while swaying from side to side for several minutes. A comparable behavior was observed in B. altamazonica in Peru after gentle handling for photography. Neither species exhibited skin secretions or bright warning colors during the display, although anecdotal reports suggest mild cutaneous reactions to B. altamazonica secretions. Shadowboxing may therefore function as a visual deterrent, complementing chemical defenses documented in other species of Bolitoglossa. Similar posturing is rare in salamanders, previously noted only in a few species such as Cryptotriton nasalis. These records expand knowledge of antipredator behavior in neotropical salamanders and underscore the importance of detailed natural-history observations for understanding behavioral diversity and survival strategies in Amazonian amphibians.

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