Diet Composition of Indian Burrowing Frog Sphaerotheca breviceps (Anura: Dicroglossidae) in Uttarakhand Region of Western Himalaya

A study encompassing the food and feeding habits of Indian burrowing frog Sphaerotheca breviceps was carried out in Srinagar Garhwal (n = 27) and Joshimath region (n = 21) of Uttarakhand, Western Himalaya, India to establish their feeding nature and diet composition. Gut content analysis of S. breviceps revealed acceptance of a wide range of insects and other invertebrates as their food. They feed extensively on the ground and litter-dwelling prey animals. There exists a slight deviation in the diets of S. breviceps in respect to localities perhaps due to variation in prey faunal species. Analysis of the food items ingested revealed that the size of the prey animals was ranged from 3 to 56 mm. The diet composition and index of relative importance confirm its insectivorous type of feeding habit. The study indicates that these anurans are primarily predators of nocturnal terrestrial arthropods and act as an important biological agent for controlling the harmful pests and thus help in ecosystem management.