Globally Threatened Amphibian Species Part 1

Globally Threatened Amphibian Species 229
VU Dendrobates granuliferus Taylor, 1958
Vulnerable B1ab(iii)
Order, Family: Anura, Dendrobatidae
Country Distribution: Costa Rica, Panama
Current Population Trend: Decreasing
CITES: Appendix II
GRANULAR POISON FROG
Geographic Range This species occurs in the lowlands of south-western Costa Rica, adjacent south-western
Panama, and possibly in south-eastern Costa Rica, from 20-100m asl.
Population It is common in Costa Rica.
Habitat and Ecology A diurnal, terrestrial species most often found in relatively undisturbed humid lowland forest,
but also recorded from secondary forest and plantations. Eggs are deposited on the forest floor and the female
transports the tadpoles to bromeliads to complete metamorphosis.
Major Threats The major threat is habitat loss due to agriculture, selective logging, and human settlement. The
current level of offtake of specimens for the international trade is unknown.
Conservation Measures It is present in several protected areas, including Parque Nacional Corcovado.
Bibliography: Ibáñez, R. et al. (2000), Meyer, E. (1992), Meyer, E. (1993), Meyer, E. (1996), Savage, J.M. (2002), Silverstone, P.A. (1975),
Young, B. et al. (1999)
Data Providers: Frank Solís, Roberto Ibáñez, Gerardo Chaves, Jay Savage, César Jaramillo, Querube Fuenmayor
© Paddy Ryan
CR Dendrobates lehmanni Myers and Daly, 1976
Critically Endangered B2ab(iii)
Order, Family: Anura, Dendrobatidae
Country Distribution: Colombia
Current Population Trend: Decreasing
CITES: Appendix II
© Karl-Heinz Jungfer
Geographic Range This species is known with certainty only from two localities in Colombia on the western slopes
of the Cordillera Occidental: west of Dagua at 850-1,200m on the south-facing versant of the upper Río Anchicayá
LEHMANN’S POISON FROG
drainage, Department of Valle del Cauca; and from Alto del Oso near San José del Palmar in the Department of Choco.
Its overall altitudinal rage is between 600 and 1,200m asl. Records from the Serrania de Baudo in the Department
of Choco (not mapped) require confirmation.
Population It is a locally common species in its tiny range.
Habitat and Ecology It lives mostly on the ground in submontane tropical rainforests, but it can also be found perching
on leaves up to 60cm above ground. It is not found in heavily degraded areas, but does occur in mature secondary
forest. The eggs are laid on the ground, and the tadpoles are carried on the backs of the females to bromeliads, where
they develop. The females feed the tadpoles on unfertilized eggs.
Major Threats The major threats are habitat loss and degradation, as a result of agricultural development (illegal
crops), logging, and human settlement, and pollution, resulting from the spraying of illegal crops. It occasionally
appears in the illegal pet trade.
Conservation Measures The species occurs in the Parque Nacional Natural Farallones de Cali. Management practices
that could allow a commercial, sustainable harvest of this species should be investigated. Decree INDERENA No. 39
of 9 July, 1985, forbids the collection of Dendrobates spp. from the wild for breeding (or other) purposes.
Notes on taxonomy: Lötters (1992b) doubted the distinction of this species from Dendrobates histrionicus.
Bibliography: Bauer, L. (1979), Bechter, R. (1978), Fenolio, D. (1994), Garraffo, H.M. et al. (2001), Lötters, S. (1992b), Lötters, S. (1996),
Lötters, S. et al. (1999), Lötters, S. and Widmer, A. (1997), Myers, C.W. and Daly, J.W. (1976b), Myers, C.W., Daly, J.W. and Martinez,
V. (1984), Rueda-Almonacid, J.V. (1999), Ruiz-Carranza, P.M., Ardila-Robayo, M.C. and Lynch, J.D. (1996), Schoop, E. (2002), van Dijk, W.
(2001), Zimmermann, H. and Zimmermann, E. (1980), Zimmermann, H. and Zimmermann, E. (1981)
Data Providers: Wilmar Bolívar, Fernando Castro, Stefan Lötters
EN Dendrobates mysteriosus Myers, 1982
MARAÑÓN POISON FROG
Endangered B1ab(iii)
Order, Family: Anura, Dendrobatidae
Country Distribution: Peru
Current Population Trend: Decreasing
CITES: Appendix II
© Karl-Heinz Jungfer
Geographic Range This species is currently known with certainty only from a single location in the vicinity of the
town of Santa Rosa at the foothills of the Cordillera del Cóndor (Cajamarca Department), north-eastern Peru, at
around 1,000m asl.
Population The population status of this species is not known. Much of the area is deforested and populations are
only known from forest remnants that remain on some steep cliffs and slopes.
Habitat and Ecology It has only been recorded from primary premontane forest, with breeding taking place in
bromeliads.
Major Threats The main threat is habitat clearance for agricultural use (including pastureland and coffee cultivation).
Recently, a few specimens have also been reported in international trade.
Conservation Measures Reportedly present in the Cordillera del Cóndor Reserve, this species is also protected
by national legislation. Further research into the distribution and population status of the species is necessary, and
there is a need to monitor its presence in international trade.
Bibliography: Myers, C.W. (1982), Rodríguez, L.O., Cordova, J.H. and Icochea, J. (1993), Schmidt, O. (1857), Schmidt, O. (1858), Schulte,
R. (1990), Schulte, R. (1999)
Data Providers: Javier Icochea, Karl-Heinz Jungfer, Stefan Lötters, Wilfredo Arizabal, Jorge Luis Martinez
VU Dendrobates opisthomelas Boulenger, 1899
ANDEAN POISON FROG
Vulnerable B1ab(iii)
Order, Family: Anura, Dendrobatidae
Country Distribution: Colombia
Current Population Trend: Decreasing
CITES: Appendix II
© Mauricio Rivera-Correa, courtesy of Museo de
Herpetología Universidad de Antioquia
Geographic Range This species occurs from the central and western Andes, in Antioquia Department, to the eastern
slope of the central Andes, in Caldas Department, Colombia. It has been recorded between 1,160 and 2,200m asl. It
might occur a little more widely than current records suggest.
Population It is a common species.
Habitat and Ecology It occurs on the ground in leaf-litter in montane forest, although it may also climb on vegetation
in the interior of primary forest. It lays its eggs in leaf-litter and the tadpoles develop in bromeliads.
Major Threats The major threats to this species are habitat loss/degradation, due to agriculture, logging and fire,
and pollution as a result of the fumigation of crops. It is also harvested illegally for the international pet trade.
Conservation Measures It is not known to occur in any protected areas, and there is clearly a need for improved
habitat protection at sites where this species is known to occur. Measures need to be put in place to ensure levels of
offtake of this species from the wild are sustainable. Decree INDERENA No. 39 of 9 July, 1985, forbids the collection
of Dendrobates spp. from the wild for breeding (or other) purposes.
Bibliography: Myers, C.W. (1987), Rueda-Almonacid, J.V. (1999), Ruiz-Carranza, P.M. and Ramírez Pinilla, M. (1992), Ruiz-Carranza,
P.M., Ardila-Robayo, M.C. and Lynch, J.D. (1996), Silverstone, P.A. (1975)
Data Providers: Martha Patricia Ramírez Pinilla, Mariela Osorno-Muñoz, Jose Vicente Rueda, Adolfo Amézquita, María Cristina
Ardila-Robayo