Melanophryniscus admirabilis
| Kingdom |
Phylum |
Class |
Order |
Family |
| ANIMALIA |
CHORDATA |
AMPHIBIA |
ANURA |
BUFONIDAE |
| Scientific Name: |
Melanophryniscus admirabilis |
| Species Authority: |
Di-Bernardo, Maneyro and Grillo, 2006 |
| Taxonomic Notes: |
Melanophryniscus admirabilis differs from other similar species by a combination of morphological features and colour patterns (Di-Bernardo et al., 2006). |
Assessment Information
[top]
| Red List Category & Criteria: |
Near Threatened
ver 3.1
|
| Year Published: |
2008 |
| Assessor/s: |
Raúl Maneyro |
| Reviewer/s: |
Ariadne Angulo and Simon Stuart |
| Contributor/s: |
|
Justification:
Listed as Near Threatened because although the species is common within its small range, and might not be declining, its extent of occurrence is much less than 5,000 km2, thus making the species vulnerable to stochastic events.
|
Geographic Range
[top]
| Range Description: |
Melanophryniscus admirabilis is only known from the type locality: Perau de Janeiro (52 18' W, 28 51' S), Municipality of Arvorezinha, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil (Di-Bernardo et al., 2006). |
| Countries: |
Native: Brazil (Rio Grande do Sul) |
| Range Map: |
Click here to open the map viewer and explore range. |
Population
[top]
| Population: |
This is considered to be a rare species, given that, although the number of individuals observed tends to be high, members of this genus are known to be explosive breeders, so it is likely that when breeding individuals are observed, a large proportion of the existing population may be involved in the observation (R. Maneyro, pers. comm.).
|
| Population Trend: |
Stable
|
Habitat and Ecology
[top]
| Habitat and Ecology: |
Melanophryniscus admirabilis occurs along the southern slopes of the Brazilian Southern Plateau. All known specimens were caught during the day inside marginal ponds or over flattened stone formations along the left bank of the Forqueta River, at 616 masl. The vegetation is dominated by riparian native forest. Some natural history observations indicate that the species may have reproductive activity during October. In this month some clutches and tadpoles were recorded inside the marginal ponds, and many males were heard calling (Di-Bernardo et al., 2006).
This species is associated to lotic waters. Although clutch size is not known, it is very possible that the species may have similar features to those of other members of the genus (e.g. just over 100 eggs per female) (R. Maneyro, pers. comm.).
|
| Systems: |
Terrestrial; Freshwater |
| Major Threat(s): |
No major threats are known for this species, although its restricted distribution could make it vulnerable to stochastic events (R. Maneyro, pers. comm.).
|
Conservation Actions
[top]
| Conservation Actions: |
The species appears to be endemic to a very restricted area. Therefore, survival may depend on the development of a specific in situ conservation policy because of the high extinction risk the taxa with small geographic ranges face (Di-Bernardo et al., 2006).
|
