Atelopus bomolochos

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	BUFONIDAE

Scientific Name:

Atelopus bomolochos

Species Authority:

Peters, 1973

Common Name/s:

Spanish

–

Jambato Del Azuay

Assessment Information [top]

Red List Category & Criteria:	Critically Endangered A2ace ver 3.1
Year Published:	2004
Assessor/s:	Luis A. Coloma, Santiago Ron, Stefan Lötters, Martín R. Bustamante, Andrés Merino-Viteri, Antonio Salas
Reviewer/s:	Global Amphibian Assessment Coordinating Team (Simon Stuart, Janice Chanson, Neil Cox and Bruce Young)
Justification: Listed as Critically Endangered because of a drastic population decline, estimated to be more than 80% over the last three generations, inferred from the apparent disappearance of most of the population, probably due to chytridiomycosis.

Geographic Range [top]

Range Description:	This species is found in the Cordillera Oriental in southern Ecuador, Azuay and Cañar Provinces, between 2,500 and 2,800m asl, where it has been recorded from at least 15 localities. There was one record from Parque Nacional Sangay. The specimens from the Departamento Piura, Peru, which referred to this species, are in fact specimens of an undescribed species (Coloma, Lötters and Salas 2000).
Countries:	Native: Ecuador
Range Map:	Click here to open the map viewer and explore range.

Population [top]

Population:	One individual was seen in 2002 in the Parque Nacional Sangay (D. Almeida pers. comm.), but otherwise this formerly abundant species has disappeared from its range.
Population Trend:	Decreasing

Habitat and Ecology [top]

Habitat and Ecology:	It lives in humid montane forest, sub-páramo, and páramo (Lötters 1996). Breeding takes place in streams.
Systems:	Terrestrial; Freshwater

Threats [top]

Major Threat(s):	The major threat is likely to be chytridiomycosis, leading to a catastrophic population decline, as has occurred in many other montane species of Atelopus. Dead and dying animals infected with the chytrid fungal pathogen have been collected in Ecuador (Ron et al. 2003), and it was the first species (in 1980) in Central or South America confirmed to have chytridiomycosis. It tolerates some habitat destruction, and can be found near streams in artificial grasslands. Introduced predators such as trout might threaten the species.

Major Threat(s):

The major threat is likely to be chytridiomycosis, leading to a catastrophic population decline, as has occurred in many other montane species of Atelopus. Dead and dying animals infected with the chytrid fungal pathogen have been collected in Ecuador (Ron et al. 2003), and it was the first species (in 1980) in Central or South America confirmed to have chytridiomycosis. It tolerates some habitat destruction, and can be found near streams in artificial grasslands. Introduced predators such as trout might threaten the species.

Conservation Actions [top]

Conservation Actions:	The species has been recorded from Parque Nacional Sangay, which is a World Heritage Site. The population status of this species urgently needs to be assessed; given the threat of chytridiomycosis, successful conservation measures will probably need to include the maintenance of any surviving individuals in captivity.

Conservation Actions:

The species has been recorded from Parque Nacional Sangay, which is a World Heritage Site. The population status of this species urgently needs to be assessed; given the threat of chytridiomycosis, successful conservation measures will probably need to include the maintenance of any surviving individuals in captivity.

Citation:	Luis A. Coloma, Santiago Ron, Stefan Lötters, Martín R. Bustamante, Andrés Merino-Viteri, Antonio Salas 2004. Atelopus bomolochos. In: IUCN 2011. IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2011.2. <www.iucnredlist.org>. Downloaded on 26 May 2012.
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