Petropedetes dutoiti

Taxonomy

Assessment Information

Geographic Range

Population

Habitat and Ecology

Threats

Conservation Actions

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Taxonomy [top]

Kingdom	Phylum	Class	Order	Family
ANIMALIA	CHORDATA	AMPHIBIA	ANURA	PETROPEDETIDAE

Scientific Name:

Petropedetes dutoiti

Species Authority:

(Loveridge, 1935)

Common Name/s:

English

–

Du Toit's Torrent Frog

Synonym/s:

Arthroleptides dutoiti Loveridge, 1935

Assessment Information [top]

Red List Category & Criteria:

Critically Endangered B2ab(iii) ver 3.1

Year Assessed:

2004

Assessor/s

Stefan Lötters, Simon Loader, Kim Howell

Evaluator/s:

Global Amphibian Assessment Coordinating Team (Simon Stuart, Janice Chanson and Neil Cox)

Justification:
Listed as Critically Endangered because its Area of Occupancy is probably less than 10km2, all individuals are in a single sub-population, and the extent of its forest habitat, and possibly the number of mature individuals, on Mount Elgon are declining.

History:

1996	–	Extinct
1994	–	Extinct? (IUCN)

Geographic Range [top]

Range Description:	This species is known only from Mount Elgon, Kenya, at around 2,100-2,200m asl. It was last recorded in 1962, and four attempts to locate the species (in wet and dry seasons) since 2001 have been unsuccessful. There have been no records from the Ugandan side of Mount Elgon.
Countries:	Possibly extinct: Kenya; Uganda
Range Map:	(click map to view full version)

Population [top]

Population:	There is no information on the population status of this species, and it has been suggested that it might be extinct.
Population Trend:	Decreasing

Habitat and Ecology [top]

Habitat and Ecology:	It is associated with seeps and fast-flowing streams in montane forest. Breeding is presumably as with other species in genus, with eggs laid on wet rocks close to torrential streams and waterfalls, and the larvae developing on the rocks, out of the water.
Systems:	Terrestrial; Freshwater

Threats [top]

Major Threat(s):	The habitat of this species appears to be generally in good condition, although it might be adversely impacted by logging and general encroachment of the forest on Mount Elgon. However, the species cannot now be found at its type locality, or in other streams on Mount Elgon. In view of the disappearance of other montane stream-dwelling species elsewhere in the humid tropics, the impact of disease, such as chytridiomycosis, cannot be ruled out.

Major Threat(s):

The habitat of this species appears to be generally in good condition, although it might be adversely impacted by logging and general encroachment of the forest on Mount Elgon. However, the species cannot now be found at its type locality, or in other streams on Mount Elgon. In view of the disappearance of other montane stream-dwelling species elsewhere in the humid tropics, the impact of disease, such as chytridiomycosis, cannot be ruled out.

Conservation Actions [top]

Conservation Actions:	The type locality, which is not very precise, might be inside, or very close to the Mount Elgon National Park, although its presence there has not been confirmed. Further survey work is needed to determine the status of this species in the wild.

Conservation Actions:

The type locality, which is not very precise, might be inside, or very close to the Mount Elgon National Park, although its presence there has not been confirmed. Further survey work is needed to determine the status of this species in the wild.

Citation:	Stefan Lötters, Simon Loader, Kim Howell 2004. Petropedetes dutoiti. In: IUCN 2009. IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2009.2. <www.iucnredlist.org>. Downloaded on 09 February 2010.
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