Description of the tadpole of Itapotihyla langsdorffii (Anura: Hylidae)

The tadpole of Itapotihyla langsdorffii is described and illustrated. Morphological data are compared with available information on tadpoles of casque­headed frogs occurring in the Atlantic Rainforest (genera Aparasphenodon and Trachycephalus), and also with Osteocephalus. The ontogenetic shift in tooth row formula and the great similarity on tadpole external morphology among these genera do not allow the use of the examined larval characters on generic diagnoses.

However, we present some juvenile characters which may support the validity of Itapotihyla. The confrontation of the hypotheses concerning oral disk morphology and larval habitat types of the casque­headed tree frogs with the phylogeny of the Lophiohylini indicates that the ancestral larval habitat of this tribe was lentic and that the high number of tooth rows in this clade is not related to larval habitat.