Dendrotriton bromeliacius
| Kingdom |
Phylum |
Class |
Order |
Family |
| ANIMALIA |
CHORDATA |
AMPHIBIA |
CAUDATA |
PLETHODONTIDAE |
| Scientific Name: |
Dendrotriton bromeliacius |
| Species Authority: |
(Schmidt, 1936) |
Assessment Information
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| Red List Category & Criteria: |
Critically Endangered
B2ab(iii,v)
ver 3.1
|
| Year Published: |
2004 |
| Assessor/s: |
Manuel Acevedo, David Wake, Carlos Vasquez |
| Reviewer/s: |
Global Amphibian Assessment Coordinating Team (Simon Stuart, Janice Chanson, Neil Cox and Bruce Young) |
| Contributor/s: |
|
Justification:
Listed as Critically Endangered because its Area of Occupancy is probably less than 10km2, populations are severly fragmented in small areas of declining cloud forest
|
Geographic Range
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| Range Description: |
This species is restricted to south-western Guatemala, being known only from the southern slopes of Volcán Tajumulco and adjacent volcanic highlands in San Marcos, Guatemala. It occurs at elevations of 1,700-2,700m asl. |
| Countries: |
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| Range Map: |
Click here to open the map viewer and explore range. |
Population
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| Population: |
It used to be extremely common, but seems to have undergone declines: when it was discovered in the 1930s, nearly 60 specimens were collected just by searching bromeliads at the type locality. Forty years later, they could be found in around half of all bromeliads inspected. It is now even less common (2005) than it was in the 1970s (Carlos Vásquez pers. comm. 2007).
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| Population Trend: |
Decreasing
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Habitat and Ecology
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| Habitat and Ecology: |
It lives in humid montane forest and forest edges, surviving only in mature old-growth forest. It is a bromeliad specialist. Breeding takes place by direct development and is not dependent upon water.
|
| Systems: |
Terrestrial |
| Major Threat(s): |
Much of its forest habitat has been cleared for livestock, cultivation of crops, and wood extraction. The reasons behind the decline in density of this species is not known.
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Conservation Actions
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| Conservation Actions: |
It has been recorded from the 'Quetzal Reserve' close to Finca Insula in Chiapas, Mexico (Ted Papenfuss and Sean Rovito pers. comm. 2007). This species is in need of improved habitat protection and close population monitoring.
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