Atelopus spumarius

Taxonomy

Assessment Information

Geographic Range

Population

Habitat and Ecology

Threats

Conservation Actions

Bibliography

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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 Published:

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.

Bibliography [top]

	Boulenger, G.A. 1882. Catalogue of the Batrachia Gradientia s. Caudata and Batrachia Apoda in the collection of the British Museum. British Museum of Natural History, London. Cocroft, R.B., McDiarmid, R.W., Jaslow, A.P. and Ruiz-Carranza, P.M. 1990. Vocalizations of eight species of Atelopus (Anura: Bufonidae) with comments on communication in the genus. Copeia: 631-643. Coloma, L.A. and Ron, S.R. 2001. Ecuador Megadiverso. Megadiverse Ecuador. Anfibios, Reptiles, Aves, Mamíferos. Amphibians, Reptiles, Birds and Mammals. Museo de Zoología. Centro de Biodiversidad y Ambiente. Departamento de Ciencias Biológicas. Pontificia Universidad Católica del Ecuador, Quito, Ecuador. Cope, E.D. 1871. Ninth contribution to the herpetology of Tropical America. Proceedings of the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia 11(23): 200-224. Ernst, R., Rödel, M-O. and Arjoon, D. 2005. On the cutting edge – The anuran fauna of the Mabura Hill Forest Reserve, Central Guyana. Salamandra 41(4): 179-194. Frost, D.R. 1985. Amphibian Species of the World: A Taxonomic and Geographic Reference. Allen Press and the Association of Systematic Collections, Lawrence, Kansas. Gascon, C. 1989. The tadpole of Atelopus pulcher near Manaus. Rev Brasiliera de Zoologia: 235-239. IUCN. 2010. IUCN Red List of Threatened Species (ver. 2010.2). Available at: http://www.iucnredlist.org. (Accessed: 29 June 2010). La Marca, E., Lips, K.R., Lötters, S., Puschendorf, R., Ibáñez, R., Rueda-Almonacid, J.V., Schulte, R., Marty, C., Castro, F., Manzanilla-Puppo, J., Garcia-Perez, J.E., Toral, E., Bolaños, F., Chaves, G., Pounds, J.A. and Young, B. 2005. Catastrophic population declines and extinctions in Neotropical harlequin frogs (Bufonidae: Atelopus). Biotropica: 190-201. Lescure, J. 1973. Présence d'une sous-espèce d'Atelopus pulcher (Amphibien, Anoure) dans les Guyanes: Atelopus pulcher hoogmoedi. Bulletin du Muséum National d’Histoire Naturelle: 997-1005. Lescure, J. 1981. Contribution à l'étude des amphibiens de Guyane Francaise, VII. Validation d'Atelopus spumarius Cope, 1871, et désignation d'un néotype. Bulletin du Muséum National d’Histoire Naturelle, 4 série: 893-910. Lescure, J. and Gasc, J.P. 1986. Partage de l'espace forestier par les amphibians et les reptiles en Amazonie du nord-ouest. Caldasia: 707-723. Lescure, J. and Marty, C. 2000. Atlas des Amphibiens de Guyane. Patrimoines Naturels, Paris. Lötters, S. 1996. The Neotropical Toad Genus Atelopus. Checklist - Biology - Distribution. Vences, M. and Glaw, F. Verlags GbR, Köln, Germany. Lötters, S., Haas, W., Schick, S. and Böhme, W. 2002. On the systematics of the harlequin frogs (Amphibia: Bufonidae: Atelopus) from Amazonia. II: Redescription of Atelopus pulcher (Boulenger, 1882) from the eastern Andean versant in Peru. Salamandra: 165-184. Lötters, S., Schulte, R., Córdova, J.H. and Veith, M. 2005. Conservation priorities for harlequin frogs (Atelopus spp.) of Peru. Oryx: 343-346. Pounds, J.A., Bustamante, M.R., Coloma, L.A., Consuegra, J.A., Fogden, M.P.L., Foster, P.N., La Marca, E., Masters, K.L., Merino-Viteri, A., Puschendorf, R., Ron, S.R., Sánchez-Azofeifa, G.A., Still, C.J. and Young, B.E. 2006. Widespread amphibian extinctions from epidemic disease driven by global warming. Nature: 161-167. Rivero, J.A. 1968. More on the Atelopus (Amphibia, Salientia) from western South America. Caribbean Journal of Science: 19-29. Rodríguez, L.O. and Duellman, W.E. 1994. Guide to the frogs of the Iquitos region, Amazonian Peru. Asocacion de Ecologia y Conservacion, Amazon Center for Environmental Education and Research and Natural History Museum, The University of Kansas, Lawrence, Kansas. Ron, S.R. 2001. Anfibios de Parque Nacional Yasuní, Amazonía ecuatoriana.[online]. Museo de Zoología, Pontificia Universidad Católica del Ecuador [Consulta: Abril, 2001), Quito, Ecuador. Ruiz-Carranza, P.M., Ardila-Robayo, M.C. and Lynch, J.D. 1996. Lista actualizada de la fauna de Amphibia de Colombia. Revista de la Academia Colombiana de Ciencias Exactas, Físicas y Naturales: 365-415.

Boulenger, G.A. 1882. Catalogue of the Batrachia Gradientia s. Caudata and Batrachia Apoda in the collection of the British Museum. British Museum of Natural History, London.

Cocroft, R.B., McDiarmid, R.W., Jaslow, A.P. and Ruiz-Carranza, P.M. 1990. Vocalizations of eight species of Atelopus (Anura: Bufonidae) with comments on communication in the genus. Copeia: 631-643.

Coloma, L.A. and Ron, S.R. 2001. Ecuador Megadiverso. Megadiverse Ecuador. Anfibios, Reptiles, Aves, Mamíferos. Amphibians, Reptiles, Birds and Mammals. Museo de Zoología. Centro de Biodiversidad y Ambiente. Departamento de Ciencias Biológicas. Pontificia Universidad Católica del Ecuador, Quito, Ecuador.

Cope, E.D. 1871. Ninth contribution to the herpetology of Tropical America. Proceedings of the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia 11(23): 200-224.

Ernst, R., Rödel, M-O. and Arjoon, D. 2005. On the cutting edge – The anuran fauna of the Mabura Hill Forest Reserve, Central Guyana. Salamandra 41(4): 179-194.

Frost, D.R. 1985. Amphibian Species of the World: A Taxonomic and Geographic Reference. Allen Press and the Association of Systematic Collections, Lawrence, Kansas.

Gascon, C. 1989. The tadpole of Atelopus pulcher near Manaus. Rev Brasiliera de Zoologia: 235-239.

IUCN. 2010. IUCN Red List of Threatened Species (ver. 2010.2). Available at: http://www.iucnredlist.org. (Accessed: 29 June 2010).

La Marca, E., Lips, K.R., Lötters, S., Puschendorf, R., Ibáñez, R., Rueda-Almonacid, J.V., Schulte, R., Marty, C., Castro, F., Manzanilla-Puppo, J., Garcia-Perez, J.E., Toral, E., Bolaños, F., Chaves, G., Pounds, J.A. and Young, B. 2005. Catastrophic population declines and extinctions in Neotropical harlequin frogs (Bufonidae: Atelopus). Biotropica: 190-201.

Lescure, J. 1973. Présence d'une sous-espèce d'Atelopus pulcher (Amphibien, Anoure) dans les Guyanes: Atelopus pulcher hoogmoedi. Bulletin du Muséum National d’Histoire Naturelle: 997-1005.

Lescure, J. 1981. Contribution à l'étude des amphibiens de Guyane Francaise, VII. Validation d'Atelopus spumarius Cope, 1871, et désignation d'un néotype. Bulletin du Muséum National d’Histoire Naturelle, 4 série: 893-910.

Lescure, J. and Gasc, J.P. 1986. Partage de l'espace forestier par les amphibians et les reptiles en Amazonie du nord-ouest. Caldasia: 707-723.

Lescure, J. and Marty, C. 2000. Atlas des Amphibiens de Guyane. Patrimoines Naturels, Paris.

Lötters, S. 1996. The Neotropical Toad Genus Atelopus. Checklist - Biology - Distribution. Vences, M. and Glaw, F. Verlags GbR, Köln, Germany.

Lötters, S., Haas, W., Schick, S. and Böhme, W. 2002. On the systematics of the harlequin frogs (Amphibia: Bufonidae: Atelopus) from Amazonia. II: Redescription of Atelopus pulcher (Boulenger, 1882) from the eastern Andean versant in Peru. Salamandra: 165-184.

Lötters, S., Schulte, R., Córdova, J.H. and Veith, M. 2005. Conservation priorities for harlequin frogs (Atelopus spp.) of Peru. Oryx: 343-346.

Pounds, J.A., Bustamante, M.R., Coloma, L.A., Consuegra, J.A., Fogden, M.P.L., Foster, P.N., La Marca, E., Masters, K.L., Merino-Viteri, A., Puschendorf, R., Ron, S.R., Sánchez-Azofeifa, G.A., Still, C.J. and Young, B.E. 2006. Widespread amphibian extinctions from epidemic disease driven by global warming. Nature: 161-167.

Rivero, J.A. 1968. More on the Atelopus (Amphibia, Salientia) from western South America. Caribbean Journal of Science: 19-29.

Rodríguez, L.O. and Duellman, W.E. 1994. Guide to the frogs of the Iquitos region, Amazonian Peru. Asocacion de Ecologia y Conservacion, Amazon Center for Environmental Education and Research and Natural History Museum, The University of Kansas, Lawrence, Kansas.

Ron, S.R. 2001. Anfibios de Parque Nacional Yasuní, Amazonía ecuatoriana.[online]. Museo de Zoología, Pontificia Universidad Católica del Ecuador [Consulta: Abril, 2001), Quito, Ecuador.

Ruiz-Carranza, P.M., Ardila-Robayo, M.C. and Lynch, J.D. 1996. Lista actualizada de la fauna de Amphibia de Colombia. Revista de la Academia Colombiana de Ciencias Exactas, Físicas y Naturales: 365-415.

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 25 May 2012.
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