Atelopus spumarius

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 spumarius
Species Authority:	Cope, 1871
Taxonomic Notes:	Cocroft et al. (1990) and Lötters et al. (2002b) suggested that Atelopus spumarius might be a complex of more than one species. Lescure and Marty (2001) recognize two subspecies: A. s. barbotini Lescure 1981; and A. s. hoogmoedi Lescure 1973 without arguments and in contrast to their earlier opinion. Lötters et al. (2002b) suggested that A. spumarius occurs in the upper Amazon Basin only (Peru, Colombia, Brazil); populations from southern Peru, Ecuador and central Brazil might refer to undescribed taxa within A. spumarius sensu lato. Populations from the Guianas and eastern Amazonia might be treated as A. hoogmoedi complex (maybe within A. spumarius sensu lato). Atelopus spumarius hoogmoedi is a synonym of A. spumarius under Lescure and Gasc (1986). This form is understood by Lescure and Gasc (1986) to be more or less A. spumarius sensu lato; however, A. spumarius hoogmoedi is not conspecific with A. spumarius sensu stricto (S. Lötters pers. comm.)

Assessment Information [top]

Red List Category & Criteria:

Vulnerable A3ce ver 3.1

Year Assessed:

2010

Assessor/s:

Claudia Azevedo-Ramos, Santiago Ron, Luis A. Coloma, Martín R. Bustamante, Antonio Salas, Rainer Schulte, Stefan Lötters, Ariadne Angulo, Fernando Castro, Jean Lescure, Christian Marty, Enrique La Marca, Marinus Hoogmoed

Reviewer/s:

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

Justification:
Listed as Vulnerable because of a projected population decline, estimated to be more than 30% over the next ten years, inferred from declines in other high altitude Atelopus species in the same region, probably due to chytridiomycosis.

History:

2004

–

Vulnerable

Geographic Range [top]

Range Description:	This species occurs in the Amazonian lowlands of Colombia, Ecuador and eastern Peru, to Amazonas, Pará, Amapá (Brazil), and the Guianas (Frost 1985; but see taxonomic notes). It ranges from sea level to 600m asl.
Countries:	Native: Brazil; Colombia; Ecuador; French Guiana; Guyana; Peru; Suriname
Range Map:	Click here to open the map viewer and explore range.

Population [top]

Population:	It is locally abundant. It is unlikely to be declining in most of its range, but in Ecuador it is thought to have declined significantly and there are no records since November 1994. It was formerly abundant at Madre de Dios in Peru (A. Salas, in litt. To E. La Marca), but there is no recent information. It appears to be stable at the Mabura Hill Forest Reserve in Guyana (Ernst et al., 2005).
Population Trend:	Decreasing

Habitat and Ecology [top]

Habitat and Ecology:	It lives on the floor of terra firme tropical rainforest and in the leaf-litter near running streams. It appears to be restricted to undisturbed habitats. Breeding takes place in fast-flowing streams.
Systems:	Terrestrial; Freshwater

Threats [top]

Major Threat(s):	Threats to this species include forest loss due to agriculture, and logging and clear cutting, especially in eastern Amazônia. It occurs below the altitude at which chytridiomycosis is normally a problem, but declines have nevertheless taken place in Ecuador and perhaps also Peru, and it is possible that animals from Iquitos in Peru succumbed to this disease (R. Schulte pers. comm. to E. La Marca).

Major Threat(s):

Threats to this species include forest loss due to agriculture, and logging and clear cutting, especially in eastern Amazônia. It occurs below the altitude at which chytridiomycosis is normally a problem, but declines have nevertheless taken place in Ecuador and perhaps also Peru, and it is possible that animals from Iquitos in Peru succumbed to this disease (R. Schulte pers. comm. to E. La Marca).

Conservation Actions [top]

Conservation Actions:	It occurs in many protected areas across its range. Further research is necessary to determine the degree of threat posed by chytridiomycosis. A captive-breeding program for this species has been initiated.

Conservation Actions:

It occurs in many protected areas across its range. Further research is necessary to determine the degree of threat posed by chytridiomycosis. A captive-breeding program for this species has been initiated.

Citation:	Claudia Azevedo-Ramos, Santiago Ron, Luis A. Coloma, Martín R. Bustamante, Antonio Salas, Rainer Schulte, Stefan Lötters, Ariadne Angulo, Fernando Castro, Jean Lescure, Christian Marty, Enrique La Marca, Marinus Hoogmoed 2010. Atelopus spumarius. In: IUCN 2011. IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2011.2. <www.iucnredlist.org>. Downloaded on 08 February 2012.
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