Globally Threatened Amphibian Species Part 1

Globally Threatened Amphibian Species 227
CR Colostethus vertebralis (Boulenger, 1899)
Critically Endangered A2ace
Order, Family: Anura, Dendrobatidae
Country Distribution: Ecuador
Current Population Trend: Decreasing
© Eduardo Toral
Geographic Range This species occurs in the inter-Andean valleys and on the western slopes of the Andes in
southern Ecuador, at elevations of 1,770-3,500m asl.
Population The most recent record of this species is from 1997 (QCAZ database). It was abundant in the Bosque
Protector Mazán in 1986, but one year of searching in 1995 yielded only a single specimen. It was also abundant in
Laguna Busa in 1987. Recent expeditions to the range have turned up no specimens, and no surviving populations
are known.
Habitat and Ecology It occurs in cloud forest, in ponds in open areas and in streams. Eggs are placed on the ground,
and the males carry the tadpoles to streams where they develop further.
Major Threats The primary threat threat to this species is habitat destruction and degradation, due to agriculture
and clear cutting, but this does not account for the observed decline, and chytridiomycosis is implicated as the likely
cause of its apparent disappearance.
Conservation Measures The range of this species overlaps Parque Nacional Cajas and slightly overlaps Parque
Nacional Sangay. Survey work is urgently needed to determine whether or not this species survives in its natural
range.
Bibliography: Boulenger, G.A. (1899), Coloma, L.A. (1995)
Data Providers: Luis A. Coloma, Santiago Ron, Manuel Morales, Ana Almandáriz
VU Colostethus wayuu Acosta, Cuentas and Coloma, 1999
Vulnerable D2
Order, Family: Anura, Dendrobatidae
Country Distribution: Colombia
Current Population Trend: Unknown
Geographic Range This species is known only from the Parque
Nacional Natural de Macuira, on the Sierranía of Macuira, in the
Department of Guajira, Colombia. It has an altitudinal range of
210-780m asl. It occurs in an isolated area of forest habitat in an
otherwise arid region, so it is very unlikely to occur anywhere else.
Population It is abundant in the rainy season.
Habitat and Ecology It lives in tropical forest with dry vegetation,
and can be found in secondary forest. The eggs are deposited on the
forest floor and the male carries the hatched tadpoles to streams
and ponds to complete their development.
Major Threats There are no current major threats to the species,
and its only known population is within a national park. However, its
restricted range renders it susceptible to threatening processes.
Conservation Measures It has been recorded from the Parque
Nacional Natural de Macuira, Colombia. The population of this
species requires close monitoring, particularly given that is known
only from a single location.
Bibliography: Acosta, A.R., Cuentas, D.A. and Coloma, L.A. (1999)
Data Providers: Andrés Acosta-Galvis, Taran Grant
EN Cryptophyllobates azureiventris (Kneller and Henle, 1985)
Endangered B1ab(iii)
Order, Family: Anura, Dendrobatidae
Country Distribution: Peru
Current Population Trend: Decreasing
© Karl-Heinz Jungfer
Geographic Range This species is known only from the vicinity of the type locality of Tarapoto-Yurimaguas Road,
700m asl (San Martín Department), Peru. It is presumed to have a restricted distribution.
Population It is not very common.
Habitat and Ecology Its habitat is lowland primary tropical rainforest, and eggs are laid under leaf-litter and the
larvae are transported to small streams. Nothing is known about its adaptability to modifi ed habitats.
Major Threats The major threat to the species is general habitat loss resulting from various human activities;
local people use the area for recreation and there are lots of settlements, with agricultural development, in lower
areas. The species has been recorded in trade. Specimens presumably originated from illegal collection by tourists,
although they may have been captive bred. However, the species has not been seen in the commercial trade over
the last fi fteen years.
Conservation Measures It is not present in any protected areas, and there is an urgent need to both encourage the
protection of remaining lowland habitat as well as establish a conservation management plan that includes some
form of legislation concerning trade.
Bibliography: Kneller, M. and Henle, K. (1985), Lötters, S., Jungfer, K.-H. and Widmer, A. (2000)
Data Providers: Javier Icochea, Ariadne Angulo, Karl-Heinz Jungfer, Stefan Lötters, Wilfredo Arizabal, Jorge Luis Martinez
CR Dendrobates abditus (Myers and Daly, 1976)
Critically Endangered A2ac; B1ab(iii)
Order, Family: Anura, Dendrobatidae
Country Distribution: Ecuador
Current Population Trend: Decreasing
CITES: Appendix II
© Natural History Museum and Biodiversity Research
Center, University of Kansas
Geographic Range This species is only known from the eastern base of Volcán Reventador, south-west of the
Río Azuela bridge on the Quito-Lago Agrio road, in Napo Province, at 1,700m asl, on the Amazonian versant of the
Andes in Ecuador.
Population It no longer survives at its only known locality, but there is a small chance that it survives elsewhere in
localities that have not yet been surveyed.
Habitat and Ecology The type locality is a forested ridge, which has a relatively low canopy and is exceedingly
dense in most places. This forest is cool and very damp, with a conspicuous moss layer and many epiphytes on the
tree trunks. Specimens have been found by day, on or close to the ground, in the forest and in adjacent new clearings.
The eggs are laid on the ground, and the tadpoles are carried on the back of the adults one by one to bromeliads,
where they develop.
Major Threats Patches of forest at the type locality have been cleared for agriculture and livestock farming. The
species also could have been affected by the synergistic effects of chytridiomycosis and climate change.
Conservation Measures The distribution range of the species might overlap with Reserva Ecológica Cayambe-Coca,
but its presence there has not been confirmed. There is an urgent need for further survey work to determine whether
or not this species might survive at other sites near the type locality.
Bibliography: Myers, C.W. (1987), Myers, C.W. and Daly, J.W. (1976a)
Data Providers: Luis A. Coloma, Santiago Ron