Discoglossus nigriventer

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	ALYTIDAE

Scientific Name:

Discoglossus nigriventer

Species Authority:

Mendelssohn & Steinitz, 1943

Common Name/s:

English

–

Hula Painted Frog

Assessment Information [top]

Red List Category & Criteria:

Critically Endangered B1ab(v) ver 3.1

Year Published:

2012

Assessor/s:

IUCN SSC Amphibian Specialist Group,

Reviewer/s:

Cox, N.A. & Stuart, S.N.

Contributor/s:

Disi, A.M., Gasith, A., Sadek, R., Gafny, S., Kuzmin, S., Anderson, S., Papenfuss, T. & Werner, Y.L.

Justification:
Listed as Critically Endangered given that its extent of occurrence (EOO) is estimated to be under 2 km², it is known from one threat-defined location, and because it is believed that there is a continuing decline in the number of mature individuals due to heavy predation pressure by the waterbird population in the Hula Valley area.

History:

2004	–	Extinct
1996	–	Extinct
1994	–	Extinct? (Groombridge 1994)
1990	–	Extinct? (IUCN 1990)
1988	–	Extinct? (IUCN Conservation Monitoring Centre 1988)
1986	–	Endangered (IUCN Conservation Monitoring Centre 1986)

Geographic Range [top]

Range Description:	In the 1940s this species was recorded from only two sites on the eastern shore of Lake Huleh, Israel. In 1955 the species was recorded again, in the northwest edge of the Hula swamps, just east of the extant 'En Agmon spring (Y. Werner pers. comm. March 2012). It seems possible that it could once also be found in adjacent parts of the Syrian Arab Republic. It was recently found in a very circumscribed area of the 200 ha (2 km², here taken as the maximum possible extent of occurrence) Hula Nature Reserve, (at 65 m asl), which is less than 5 km away from its former sites, and surveys are currently underway to determine if it may occur elsewhere in the Hula Valley (S. Gafny pers. comm. March 2012).
Countries:	Native: Israel
Range Map:	Click here to open the map viewer and explore range.

Population [top]

Population:	The last collection record dated from 1955, and the species had been subsequently declared as Extinct. Surveys of potentially suitable habitat have been undertaken since, including in the Aammiq marsh (the only remaining wetland fragment of the Bekaa valley) of nearby south-east Lebanon, but these failed to locate any animals there (Tron and Duguet 2004, Tron 2005). However, the species was recently rediscovered in late 2011 (Rinat 2011). Until its rediscovery, only three adult specimens and two tadpoles were known to science (S. Gafny pers. comm. March 2012).
Population Trend:	Unknown

Population:

The last collection record dated from 1955, and the species had been subsequently declared as Extinct. Surveys of potentially suitable habitat have been undertaken since, including in the Aammiq marsh (the only remaining wetland fragment of the Bekaa valley) of nearby south-east Lebanon, but these failed to locate any animals there (Tron and Duguet 2004, Tron 2005). However, the species was recently rediscovered in late 2011 (Rinat 2011). Until its rediscovery, only three adult specimens and two tadpoles were known to science (S. Gafny pers. comm. March 2012).

Population Trend:

Unknown

Habitat and Ecology [top]

Habitat and Ecology:	Recent observations suggest that this species may be more terrestrial than initially thought (S. Gafny pers. comm. March 2012). It is reported to occur in marginal freshwater habitats within the Lake Huleh wetlands of Israel. It is a larval-developing species.
Systems:	Terrestrial; Freshwater

Threats [top]

Major Threat(s):	The Huleh marshes were drained in the 1950s in an attempt to both eradicate malaria and to make the land suitable for agricultural use. Of the original 6,000 ha of marshland, only 300 ha (3 km²) remained after drainage. The remaining wetland was set aside as a nature reserve - the Hula Nature Reserve - in 1964. While the reserve is well-managed, it functions as a refuge for many water birds, possibly more than those that used to be in the original swamp, and predation pressure is thought to be very high and a real threat to a small amphibian population comprised of few individuals (S. Gafny pers. comm. March 2012). In addition, most of the area surrounding the reserve is cultivated (S. Gafny pers. comm. March 2012), should the species occur outside the reserve.

Major Threat(s):

The Huleh marshes were drained in the 1950s in an attempt to both eradicate malaria and to make the land suitable for agricultural use. Of the original 6,000 ha of marshland, only 300 ha (3 km²) remained after drainage. The remaining wetland was set aside as a nature reserve - the Hula Nature Reserve - in 1964. While the reserve is well-managed, it functions as a refuge for many water birds, possibly more than those that used to be in the original swamp, and predation pressure is thought to be very high and a real threat to a small amphibian population comprised of few individuals (S. Gafny pers. comm. March 2012). In addition, most of the area surrounding the reserve is cultivated (S. Gafny pers. comm. March 2012), should the species occur outside the reserve.

Conservation Actions [top]

Conservation Actions:	It was rediscovered in 2011 in the Hula Reserve (S. Gafny pers. comm. March 2012), its only known extant locality, and it remains protected by national legislation in Israel. More information is needed on this species' distribution, population status and natural history. The Israel Nature and Parks Authority (INPA) plans to undertake a monitoring effort for this species (S. Gafny pers. comm. March 2012).

Conservation Actions:

It was rediscovered in 2011 in the Hula Reserve (S. Gafny pers. comm. March 2012), its only known extant locality, and it remains protected by national legislation in Israel. More information is needed on this species' distribution, population status and natural history. The Israel Nature and Parks Authority (INPA) plans to undertake a monitoring effort for this species (S. Gafny pers. comm. March 2012).

Citation:	IUCN SSC Amphibian Specialist Group, 2012. Discoglossus nigriventer. In: IUCN 2012. IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2012.2. <www.iucnredlist.org>. Downloaded on 24 May 2013.
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