Telmatobius culeus

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	CERATOPHRYIDAE

Scientific Name:

Telmatobius culeus

Species Authority:

(Garman, 1875)

Common Name/s:

English

–

Titicaca Water Frog

Synonym/s:

Telmatobius albiventris Parker, 1940

Telmatobius crawfordi Vellard, 1953

Taxonomic Notes:

Telmatobius albiventris and Telmatobius crawfordi were synonymized with this species by Benavides, Ortiz and Sites (2002).

Assessment Information [top]

Red List Category & Criteria:	Critically Endangered A2acde ver 3.1
Year Published:	2004
Assessor/s:	Javier Icochea, Steffen Reichle, Ignacio De la Riva, Ulrich Sinsch, Jörn Köhler
Reviewer/s:	Global Amphibian Assessment Coordinating Team (Simon Stuart, Janice Chanson, Neil Cox and Bruce Young)
Contributor/s:
Justification: Listed as Critically Endangered because of an observed serious population decline, estimated to be more than 80% over the last three generations, due to over-exploitation, habitat degradation, and invasive species. The generation length is assumed to be five years.

Geographic Range [top]

Range Description:	This species is endemic to Lake Titicaca of Peru (Departamento Puno) and Bolivia (Departamento La Paz) at an elevation of 3,810m asl.
Countries:	Native: Bolivia, Plurinational States of; Peru
Range Map:	Click here to open the map viewer and explore range.

Population [top]

Population:	It was previously common, but it has experienced massive declines, and it is now seriously threatened.
Population Trend:	Decreasing

Habitat and Ecology [top]

Habitat and Ecology:	It is a wholly aquatic species, with reproduction taking place in shallow waters close to the Lake's shoreline.
Systems:	Freshwater

Threats [top]

Major Threat(s):	Major threats include over-harvesting of adults, the presumed predation of larvae by introduced trout, water extraction from the Lake, and domestic and agricultural water pollution. There has been a severe loss of suitable aquatic habitat where reproduction takes place. Although not yet recorded, chytridiomycosis remains a potential future threat.

Major Threat(s):

Major threats include over-harvesting of adults, the presumed predation of larvae by introduced trout, water extraction from the Lake, and domestic and agricultural water pollution. There has been a severe loss of suitable aquatic habitat where reproduction takes place. Although not yet recorded, chytridiomycosis remains a potential future threat.

Conservation Actions [top]

Conservation Actions:	It is present in the Lake Titicaca Reserve, but measures are needed to maintain suitable aquatic habitat for breeding and to mitigate the impacts of other threats. Captive-breeding programmes around Lake Titicaca are generally considered to have been unsuccessful to date. In Peru, National legislation to treat as "Situación Indeterminada" (Decreto Supremo N° 013-99-AG, May-19.1999) is needed.

Conservation Actions:

It is present in the Lake Titicaca Reserve, but measures are needed to maintain suitable aquatic habitat for breeding and to mitigate the impacts of other threats. Captive-breeding programmes around Lake Titicaca are generally considered to have been unsuccessful to date. In Peru, National legislation to treat as "Situación Indeterminada" (Decreto Supremo N° 013-99-AG, May-19.1999) is needed.

Citation:	Javier Icochea, Steffen Reichle, Ignacio De la Riva, Ulrich Sinsch, Jörn Köhler 2004. Telmatobius culeus. In: IUCN 2012. IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2012.2. <www.iucnredlist.org>. Downloaded on 19 June 2013.
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