Atelopus

Not to be confused with Ateleopus, a genus of fish.

Atelopus
Male A. certus
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Amphibia
Order: Anura
Family: Bufonidae
Genus: Atelopus
Duméril and Bibron, 1841
Species

See text

Synonyms

Ateleopus Agassiz, 1846 (unjustified emendation)

Atelopus is a large genus of Bufonidae, commonly known as harlequin frogs or toads, from Central and South America, ranging as far north as Costa Rica and as far south as Bolivia. Atelopus species are small, generally brightly colored, and diurnal. Most species are associated with mid-to-high elevation streams.

This genus has been greatly affected by amphibian declines, with about 70% of species now considered endangered or extinct.[1] While threatened by habitat loss, pollution, and introduced species, the primary cause of these declines appears to be the chytrid fungus Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis.[2][3]

Almost 40% of the described species in the genus are considered possibly extinct; this is raised to 45% when data deficient species are added; this number may be even higher, given that the genus contains many undescribed species that could also be extinct, and many of the species considered critically endangered but extant may have gone extinct after the last surveys that detected them, or could go extinct in the future.[4] For example, there are 32 known Atelopus species (including half a dozen undescribed) in Ecuador. One of these is data deficient (its status is unclear), two are endangered and the remaining are critically endangered.[5] Almost half the Ecuador species have not been recorded in a decade or more and are likely extinct. In some species conservationists have established captive colonies as a safeguard.[5] However, of 80 species that had not been seen since the 1950s, 32 have been sighted in the 21st Century, albeit at dangerously low population numbers.[1] Among the Atelopus species that have been rediscovered decades after their last sighting have been A. arsyescue, A. mindoensis, A. bomolochos, A. ignescens, A. balios, A. longirostris, A. subornatus, A. varius, A. carbonerensis and possibly A. guanujo. The mechanism whereby these species survived extinction remains to be discovered.[1][6]

New Atelopus species are discovered with some regularity, and many new species have been described in the last decade. Among others, a new subspecies, popularly dubbed the purple fluorescent frog, was discovered in 2007 by scientists Paul Ouboter and Jan Mol during a follow-up survey of the Nassau plateau in Suriname.[7] Leeanne Alonso from Conservation International, the organisation that led the expedition, said this frog may be threatened by illegal gold mining.[8] It was described as a new subspecies of Atelopus hoogmoedi (itself considered a subspecies of A. spumarius by some), named A. h. nassaui in 2012.[9] Two new species were also described in 2020: A. manauensis and A. moropukaqumir, both of which are highly threatened by the chytrid fungus and habitat destruction.[10][11] Another new species, A. frontizero, was described in 2021.[12]

Species

Image Common name Binomial name Conservation status
Andes stubfoot toad Atelopus andinus Rivero, 1968 EN IUCN
Angelito stubfoot toad Atelopus angelito Ardila-Robayo and Ruiz-Carranza, 1998 CR IUCN (possibly extinct)
Ardila's stubfoot toad Atelopus ardila Coloma, Duellman, Almendariz, Ron, Teran-Valdez, and Guayasamin, 2010 CR IUCN (possibly extinct)
Starry night harlequin toad Atelopus arsyecue Rueda-Almonacid, 1994 CR IUCN
Arthur's stubfoot toad Atelopus arthuri Peters, 1973 CR IUCN
Rio Pescado stubfoot toad Atelopus balios Peters, 1973 CR IUCN
Purple harlequin toad Atelopus barbotini Lescure, 1981 LC IUCN
Azuay stubfoot toad Atelopus bomolochos Peters, 1973 CR IUCN
Boulenger's stubfoot toad Atelopus boulengeri Peracca, 1904 CR IUCN
Atelopus calima Velásquez Trujillo, Castro Herrera, Lötters & Plewnia, 2024
Rio Carauta stubfoot toad Atelopus carauta Ruiz-Carranza & Hernández-Camacho, 1978 DD IUCN
Venezuelan yellow frog or La Carbonera stubfoot toad Atelopus carbonerensis Rivero, 1974 CR IUCN
Guajira stubfoot toad Atelopus carrikeri Ruthven, 1916 EN IUCN
Darien stubfoot toad or Toad Mountain harlequin frog Atelopus certus Barbour, 1923 CR IUCN
Chiriqui harlequin frog †Atelopus chiriquiensis Shreve, 1936 EX IUCN
Atelopus chirripoensis Savage and Bolaños, 2009 DD IUCN
Chocó stubfoot toad Atelopus chocoensis Lötters, 1992 CR IUCN (possibly extinct)
Atelopus chrysocorallus La Marca, 1996 CR IUCN
Rio Faisanes stubfoot toad Atelopus coynei Miyata, 1980 CR IUCN
Veragua stubfoot toad Atelopus cruciger (Lichtenstein & Martens, 1856) CR IUCN
Atelopus dimorphus Lötters, 2003 DD IUCN
Huila stubfoot toad Atelopus ebenoides Rivero, 1963 (possibly extinct) CR IUCN (possibly extinct)
Elegant stubfoot toad Atelopus elegans (Boulenger, 1882) EN IUCN
Peruvian harlequin frog Atelopus epikeisthos Lötters, Schulte & Duellman, 2005 EN IUCN
Carabaya stubfoot toad Atelopus erythropus Boulenger, 1903 CR IUCN (possibly extinct)
Malvasa stubfoot toad Atelopus eusebianus Rivero & Granados-Díaz, 1993 CR IUCN (possibly extinct)
Atelopus eusebiodiazi Venegas, Catenazzi, Siu-Ting & Carrillo, 2008 CR IUCN (possibly extinct)
Mazán jambato frog Atelopus exiguus Boettger, 1892 EN IUCN
Atelopus famelicus Rivero & Morales, 1995 CR IUCN
Forest stubfoot toad Atelopus farci Lynch, 1993 CR IUCN (possibly extinct)
Cayenne stubfoot toad Atelopus flavescens Duméril & Bibron, 1841 VU IUCN
Central Coast stubfoot toad Atelopus franciscus Lescure, 1974 LC IUCN
Border harlequin frog Atelopus frontizero Veselý & Batista, 2021
Antado stubfoot toad Atelopus galactogaster Rivero & Serna, 1993 DD IUCN
Giant stubfoot toad Atelopus gigas Coloma, Duellman, Almendáriz, Ron, Terán-Valdez, and Guayasamin, 2010 CR IUCN (possibly extinct)
Pirri Range harlequin frog Atelopus glyphus Dunn, 1931 CR IUCN
Guanujo stubfoot toad Atelopus guanujo Coloma, 2002 CR IUCN (possibly extinct)
La Guitarra stubfoot toad Atelopus guitarraensis Osorno-Muñoz, Ardila-Robayo & Ruiz-Carranza, 2001 DD IUCN
Morona-Santiago stubfoot toad Atelopus halihelos Peters, 1973 CR IUCN (possibly extinct)
Hoogmoed harlequin toad Atelopus hoogmoedi Lescure, 1974
Quito stubfoot toad Atelopus ignescens (Cornalia, 1849) CR IUCN
San Lorenzo stubfoot toad Atelopus laetissimus Ruiz-Carranza, Ardila-Robayo & Hernández-Camacho, 1994 EN IUCN
Limosa harlequin frog Atelopus limosus Ibáñez, Jaramillo & Solís, 1995 CR IUCN
Atelopus loettersi De la Riva, Castroviejo-Fisher, Chaparro, Boistel, and Padial, 2011 NT IUCN
El Tambo stubfoot toad Atelopus longibrachius Rivero, 1963 EN IUCN
Longnose stubfoot toad Atelopus longirostris Cope, 1868 CR IUCN
Atelopus lozanoi Osorno-Muñoz, Ardila-Robayo & Ruiz-Carranza, 2001 (endangered) EN IUCN
Lynch's stubfoot toad Atelopus lynchi Cannatella, 1981 CR IUCN (possibly extinct)
Manaus harlequin frog Atelopus manauensis Jorge, Ferrão & Lima, 2020
Atelopus mandingues Osorno-Muñoz, Ardila-Robayo & Ruiz-Carranza, 2001 DD IUCN
Atelopus marinkellei Cochran and Goin, 1970 EN IUCN
Mindo stubfoot toad Atelopus mindoensis Peters, 1973 CR IUCN
Colombian stubfoot toad Atelopus minutulus Ruiz-Carranza, Hernández-Camacho & Ardila-Robayo, 1988 CR IUCN (possibly extinct)
Mittermeier's stubfoot toad Atelopus mittermeieri Acosta-Galvis, Rueda-Almonacid, Velásquez-Álvarez, Sánchez-Pacheco & Peña Prieto, 2006 EN IUCN
Hernandez's stubfoot toad Atelopus monohernandezii Ardila-Robayo, Osorno-Muñoz & Ruiz-Carranza, 2002 CR IUCN (possibly extinct)
Atelopus moropukaqumir Herrera-Alva, Díaz, Castillo, Rodolfo & Catenazzi, 2020
Mucubaji stubfoot toad Atelopus mucubajiensis Rivero, 1974 CR IUCN
La Arboleda stubfoot toad Atelopus muisca Rueda-Almonacid & Hoyos, 1992 CR IUCN
Atelopus nahumae Ruiz-Carranza, Ardila-Robayo & Hernández-Camacho, 1994 EN IUCN
Sad harlequin frog Atelopus nanay Coloma, 2002 CR IUCN
Gualecenita stubfoot toad Atelopus nepiozomus Peters, 1973 EN IUCN
Niceforo's stubfoot toad Atelopus nicefori Rivero, 1963 CR IUCN (possibly extinct)
Nocturnal harlequin toad Atelopus nocturnus Bravo-Valencia and Rivera-Correa, 2011 CR IUCN
Atelopus onorei Coloma, Lötters, Duellman & Miranda-Leiva, 2007 CR IUCN (possibly extinct)
Atelopus orcesi Coloma, Duellman, Almendáriz, Ron, Terán-Valdez & Guayasamin, 2010 CR IUCN (possibly extinct)
Atelopus oxapampae Lehr, Lötters, and Lundberg, 2008 EN IUCN
Rednose stubfoot toad Atelopus oxyrhynchus Boulenger, 1903 CR IUCN (possibly extinct)
Schmidt's stubfoot toad Atelopus pachydermus (Schmidt, 1857) CR IUCN (possibly extinct)
Andersson's stubfoot toad Atelopus palmatus Andersson, 1945 CR IUCN
Pastuso harlequin frog Atelopus pastuso Andersson, 1945 CR IUCN (possibly extinct)
Pataz stubfoot toad Atelopus patazensis Venegas, Catenazzi, Siu-Ting & Carrillo, 2008 CR IUCN
San Isidro stubfoot toad Atelopus pedimarmoratus Rivero, 1963 CR IUCN (possibly extinct)
Peru stubfoot toad Atelopus peruensis Gray & Cannatella, 1985 CR IUCN (possibly extinct)
Peters' stubfoot toad Atelopus petersi Coloma, Lötters, Duellman & Miranda-Leiva, 2007 CR IUCN (possibly extinct)
Painted stubfoot toad Atelopus petriruizi Ardila-Robayo, 1999 CR IUCN (possibly extinct)
Atelopus pictiventris Kattan, 1986 CR IUCN (possibly extinct)
Pinango stubfoot toad Atelopus pinangoi Rivero, 1982 CR IUCN (possibly extinct)
Napo stubfoot toad Atelopus planispina Jiménez de la Espada, 1875 CR IUCN (possibly extinct)
Podocarpus stubfoot toad Atelopus podocarpus Coloma, Duellman, Almendáriz, Ron, Terán-Valdez, and Guayasamin, 2010 CR IUCN
Río Huallaga stubfoot toad Atelopus pulcher Boulenger, 1882 VU IUCN
Atelopus pyrodactylus Venegas & Barrio, 2006 CR IUCN
Quimbaya toad Atelopus quimbaya Ruiz-Carranza & Osorno-Muñoz, 1994 CR IUCN (possibly extinct)
Atelopus reticulatus Lötters, Haas, Schick & Böhme, 2002 DD IUCN
Anori stubfoot toad Atelopus sanjosei Rivero & Serna, 1989 CR IUCN
Upper Amazon stubfoot toad Atelopus seminiferus Cope, 1874 EN IUCN
Pass stubfoot toad †Atelopus senex Taylor, 1952 EX IUCN
Baldias harlequin toad Atelopus sernai Ruiz-Carranza & Osorno-Muñoz, 1994 CR IUCN (possibly extinct)
Camouflaged harlequin toad Atelopus simulatus Ruiz-Carranza & Osorno-Muñoz, 1994 CR IUCN (possibly extinct)
Atelopus siranus Lötters &Henzl, 2000 DD IUCN
Sonsón stubfoot toad Atelopus sonsonensis Vélez-Rodriguez & Ruiz-Carranza, 1997 CR IUCN (possibly extinct)
Cloud forest stubfoot toad Atelopus sorianoi La Marca, 1983 CR IUCN (possibly extinct)
Pebas stubfoot toad Atelopus spumarius Cope, 1871 VU IUCN
Condoto stubfoot toad Atelopus spurrelli Boulenger, 1914 NT IUCN
Bogota stubfoot toad Atelopus subornatus Werner, 1899 CR IUCN
Venezuela stubfoot toad Atelopus tamaensis La Marca, García-Pérez & Renjifo, 1990 CR IUCN
Three-colored stubfoot toad Atelopus tricolor Boulenger, 1902 CR IUCN
Veragoa stubfoot toad Atelopus varius (Lichtenstein & Martens, 1856) CR IUCN
Maracay harlequin frog †Atelopus vogli Müller, 1934 EX IUCN
Walker's stubfoot toad Atelopus walkeri Rivero, 1963 DD IUCN
Panamanian golden frog Atelopus zeteki Dunn, 1933 CR IUCN (possibly extinct in the wild)

References

  1. ^ a b c Kreier, Freda (3 December 2022). "These frogs aren't extinct after all". Science News (Paper). 202 (10): 6.
  2. ^ Lötters, Kielgast, Bielby, Schmidtlein, Bosch, Veith, Walker, Fisher, Rödder (2009). The Link Between Rapid Enigmatic Amphibian Decline and the Globally Emerging Chytrid Fungus. EcoHealth 6(3): 358-372
  3. ^ Stuart, Hoffmann, Chanson, Cox, Berridge, Ramani and Young, editors (2008). Threatened Amphibians of the World. Pp. 100, 160-178. ISBN 978-84-96553-41-5
  4. ^ "The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Retrieved 2021-04-08.
  5. ^ a b Tapia, Elicio Eladio; Coloma, Luis Aurelio; Pazmiño-Otamendi, Gustavo; Peñafiel, Nicolás (2017). "Rediscovery of the nearly extinct longnose harlequin frog Atelopus longirostris (Bufonidae) in Junín, Imbabura, Ecuador". Neotropical Biodiversity. 3: 157–167. doi:10.1080/23766808.2017.1327000. S2CID 89865746.
  6. ^ "A tale of two frogs: The tough uphill battle for rediscovered species". Mongabay Environmental News. 2024-06-04. Retrieved 2024-06-18.
  7. ^ "MSN".
  8. ^ Zabarenko, Deborah (2007-06-04). "Purple frog among 24 new species found in Suriname". Reuters. Retrieved 2007-05-06.
  9. ^ Amphibians of Suriname, Paul E. Ouboter and Rawien Jairam, Brill 2012, ISBN 978-90-04-21075-2
  10. ^ Herrera-Alva, Valia; Díaz, Vladimir; Castillo, Ernesto; Rodolfo, César; Catenazzi, Alessandro (2020-09-23). "A new species of Atelopus (Anura: Bufonidae) from southern Peru". Zootaxa. 4853 (3): 404–420. doi:10.11646/zootaxa.4853.3.4. ISSN 1175-5334. PMID 33056367. S2CID 222838469.
  11. ^ Jorge, Rafael F.; Ferrão, Miquéias; Lima, Albertina P. (August 2020). "Out of Bound: A New Threatened Harlequin Toad (Bufonidae, Atelopus) from the Outer Borders of the Guiana Shield in Central Amazonia Described through Integrative Taxonomy". Diversity. 12 (8): 310. doi:10.3390/d12080310.
  12. ^ Veselý, Milan; Batista, Abel (2021). "A new species of Atelopus (Amphibia: Bufonidae) from eastern Panama". Zoological Research. 42 (3): 272–279. doi:10.24272/j.issn.2095-8137.2020.319. ISSN 2095-8137. PMC 8175953. PMID 33797210.
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Atelopus.
Wikispecies has information related to Atelopus.