Near Threatened Amphibian Species - Amphibian Specialist Group

618Threatened Amphibians of the WorldHyperolius chlorosteus (E. Boulenger, 1915)Leptopelis yaldeni Largen, 1977This species ranges from Sierra Leone, through Liberia and southern Guinea, to south-central Côte d’Ivoire. In suitablehabitats it is a common species. It is arboreal, and confined to primary rainforest where it is generally found bystreams. It breeds exclusively in flowing water, laying its eggs on leaves above water into which the larvae fall anddevelop. It is threatened by ongoing habitat loss for logging, agriculture and human settlements. It occurs in manyprotected areas, including Taï National Park in Côte d’Ivoire and Sapo National Park in Liberia.Bibliography: Rödel, M.-O. (2000b), Rödel, M.-O. (2003), Rödel, M.-O. and Branch, W.R. (2002), Rödel, M.-O. and Ernst, R. (2003),Schiøtz, A. (1964a), Schiøtz, A. (1967), Schiøtz, A. (1999)Data Providers: Mark-Oliver Rödel, Arne SchiøtzHyperolius wermuthi Laurent, 1961This species is known only from southern Guinea, Liberia and western Côte d’Ivoire. It is so similar to Hyperolius fusciventristhat it might well be overlooked. It probably occurs up to over 1,000m asl on Mount Nimba. It is not a commonspecies. It is found only in primary forest, and breeds in swamps and small temporary ponds. Agricultural expansion,logging, and encroaching human settlements are threats affecting this species. It occurs in several protected areas,including the Mount Nimba World Heritage Site, Taï National Park, and Diécké Classified Forest. Further taxonomicwork is required to resolve the possibility that this species is a synonym of H. soror.Taxonomy: This species is probably a synonym of Hyperolius soror, which is known with certainty only from its type locality in southernGuinea (Schiøtz 1999).Bibliography: Laurent, R.F. (1961), Rödel, M.-O. (2000b), Schiøtz, A. (1967), Schiøtz, A. (1999)Data Providers: Mark-Oliver Rödel, Arne SchiøtzHyperolius zonatus Laurent, 1958This species ranges from eastern Sierra Leone to south-central Côte d’Ivoire, through to extreme southern Guinea.It presumably occurs in Liberia, but there do not appear to be any confirmed records. It is not an uncommon species.It lives only in primary rainforest and is usually found close to small temporary ponds and swamps. Eggs are laid onvegetation above small, stagnant pools. Its forest habitat is being degraded by agricultural expansion, logging andexpanding human settlements. It occurs in Haute Dodo and Cavally Classified Forests, Mount Nimba World HeritageSite, and presumably in several other protected areas.Bibliography: Laurent, R.F. (1958b), Rödel, M.-O. (2000b), Rödel, M.-O. (2003), Schiøtz, A. (1967), Schiøtz, A. (1999)Data Providers: Arne Schiøtz, Mark-Oliver RödelKassina cochranae (Loveridge, 1941)This West African species is known from the forest zone of Sierra Leone, Liberia, southern Guinea, and extremewestern Côte d’Ivoire (where it occurs at least in the Mount Nimba area). Earlier records of this species from furtherto the east are now separated as Kassina arboricola and K. schioetzi. There is no information on its population status,but it is probably not rare. It is an arboreal, forest-dwelling species, which can exist in secondary forest. Therealso records from moist savannah and montane savannah areas as well as montane grassland. It seems to be ableto survive in habitat fragments and gallery forests, but is unlikely to tolerate complete opening up of its habitat. Itpresumably breeds in both temporary and permanent waterbodies, favouring large, well-vegetated pools, like othermembers of its genus. Certain populations are probably suffering as a result of severe deforestation taking place dueto agricultural expansion, logging and expanding human settlements. It occurs in the Mount Nimba World HeritageSite (Guinea and Liberia), and in the protected area at Pic de Fon (Guinea).Taxonomy: We follow Perret (1985) and Rödel et al. (2002) in considering Kassina arboricola to be separate from K. cochranae.Bibliography: Barbault, R. (1984), Lamotte, M. (1967), Perret, J.-L. (1985), Rödel, M.-O. (2000a), Rödel, M.-O. et al. (2002), Rödel, M.-O.and Bangoura, M.A. (2004), Rödel, M.-O. and Spieler, M. (2000), Schiøtz, A. (1967), Schiøtz, A. (1999)Data Providers: Mark-Oliver Rödel, Arne SchiøtzThis species is endemic to Gojjam Province, northern Ethiopia, at altitudes of 2,000-2,700m asl. It is common toabundant at many sites within its limited range. It is confined to montane grassland. Breeding activity is particularlyassociated with the banks of small streams, in which larval development occurs. The eggs are laid in nests on landnear the water. The most likely threats are posed by human settlement and agricultural encroachment, but these seemto be minor in relation to the area of suitable habitat available. It is not known from any protected areas.Bibliography: Largen, M.J. (1977), Largen, M.J. (2001), Schiøtz, A. (1999)Data Providers: Malcolm Largen, Arne SchiøtzLeptopelis zebra Amiet, 2001This species is known only from southern Cameroon south of the Sanaga River, at 720m asl, and away from thecoastal plain, although it might occur in neighbouring countries. It appears to be uncommon and is thinly distributedwithin its range. This species lives in lowland rainforest, in flat-bottomed valleys with slow-flowing streams, or onthe ground with puddles and water holes in the rainy season. Breeding takes place in still water and marshes, andthe eggs are presumably laid in nests on land, near water. It is probably threatened by ongoing forest loss, due toagricultural development, logging and expanding human settlements. It is presumed to occur in some protectedareas, but this has not been confi rmed.Bibliography: Amiet, J.-L. (2001)Data Providers: Jean-Louis Amiet, Arne SchiøtzLEPTODACTYLIDAEAlsodes nodosus (Duméril and Bibron, 1841)This species is restricted to central Chile from 150-1,500m asl. Voucher specimens do not support records from Argentina.It is locally common. It can be found in temperate shrubland and seasonal and permanent streams, in whichit reproduces. It is not tolerant of habitat destruction. Urban sprawl is rapidly destroying available habitat for thisspecies, and some populations close to the main cities (such as Santiago) have disappeared. It has been included inthe Chilean national legislation as near threatened and it occurs in Parque Nacional Cerro La Campana.Bibliography: Formas, J.R. (1995), Glade, A. (1993), Servicio Agrícola Ganadero (1998), Veloso, A. and Navarro, J. (1988)Data Providers: Alberto Veloso, Herman NúñezAtelognathus jeinimenensis Meriggio, Veloso, Young and Núñez, 2004This species is known from the vicinity of one small pond in the Reserva Nacional Lago Jeinimeni, southern Chile.It appears to be fairly common within its extremely limited range. The small pond which forms the only area wherethis species is known from measures 68.8m by 80m, and around 50cm deep at the deepest point. Most other pondsin the area dry out in summer. In the vicinity are pine plantations and degraded Nothofagus pumilio forest. Thisspecies presumably breeds by larval development. A major threat to this species is a plan to construct a paved roadcrossing the reserve to improve an existing road that is currently impassable in winter. Unfortunately, the plannedroute passes close to the only known breeding pond, which will probably cause direct mortality and pollution, andwould also isolate it from the Jeinimeni River and lake. The known range of this species is encompassed by theReserva Nacional Lago Jeinimeni. Studies are urgently needed prior to the approval of the planned road to assessfurther the ecology and, in particular, the dispersal patterns of this species. At this time, unsupervised public accessto the breeding pond should be restricted, in order to remove any potential disturbance.Bibliography: Meriggio, V. et al. (2004)Data Providers: Alberto VelosoLeptopelis kivuensis Ahl, 1929Ceratophrys ornata (Bell, 1843)ORNATE HORNED FROGThis species occurs in the highlands of eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, western Rwanda, north-western Burundi,and south-western Uganda. Its altitudinal range is unclear, although it is probably generally above 1,500m asl. Thisis a common species. It lives in montane forests. There is no information on its adaptability to secondary habitats.It breeds in seasonally flooded swamp forests where the eggs are buried in nests in the ground and the larvae thenwashed into water after flooding. Little information is available on the threats it faces, although it is likely to beaffected by loss of habitat for agriculture, wood extraction and human settlements. It occurs in Virunga National Park(Democratic Republic of Congo), Kibale National Park (Uganda), and Bwindi National Park (Uganda).Bibliography: Drewes, R.C. and Vindum, J.V. (1994), Laurent, R.F. (1972), Laurent, R.F. (1973), Schiøtz, A. (1975), Schiøtz, A. (1999),Vonesh, J. (2001)Data Providers: Arne Schiøtz, Robert Drewes, James VoneshLeptopelis macrotis Schiøtz, 1967This species ranges from central Sierra Leone, through Liberia, southern Guinea and Côte d’Ivoire, to southern Ghana.It is not uncommon. This species is arboreal and lives along streams in primary rainforest. Its breeding biology isunknown, but it presumably breeds in the proximity of streams, with nests that are built on land near the water. Itsforest habitat is being degraded by agricultural expansion, logging and growing human settlements. It occurs in severalprotected areas, including Gola and Kambui Forest Reserves in Sierra Leone, Taï National Park in Côte d’Ivoire, HauteDodo and Cavally Classified Forests in Côte d’Ivoire, and Bobiri Forest Reserve in Ghana.Bibliography: Rödel, M.-O. (2000b), Rödel, M.-O. et al. (2005), Rödel, M.-O. and Branch, W.R. (2002), Schiøtz, A. (1967), Schiøtz, A. (1999)Data Providers: Mark-Oliver Rödel, Arne SchiøtzLeptopelis occidentalis Schiøtz, 1967This species occurs in Liberia, southern Côte d’Ivoire and south-western Ghana. It possibly ranges as far east as Nigeriaand its western limits in Liberia are unknown. In suitable habitats it is very common. It is an arboreal species of primaryforest, only rarely occurring in secondary forest. It breeds in small streams and small temporary ponds. The eggs are laid inholes in the ground close to water, or in dry areas where temporary ponds will form at the start of the rains. It is affectedby habitat loss as a result of expanding human settlements and agricultural cultivation, and the collection of wood. InCôte d’Ivoire, it occurs in Tai and Mont Sangbe National Parks, and in Haute Dodo and Cavally Classified Forests.Taxonomy: The relationship between this species and Leptopelis boulengeri requires further investigation (Schiøtz 1967, 1999).Bibliography: Rödel, M.-O. (2000b), Rödel, M.-O. (2003), Rödel, M.-O. et al. (2005), Rödel, M.-O. and Branch, W.R. (2002), Schiøtz, A.(1967), Schiøtz, A. (1999)Data Providers: Mark-Oliver Rödel, Arne SchiøtzThis species can be found in the Pampean region of Argentina (Buenos Aires, Córdoba, Entre Ríos, La Pampa, Mendozaand Santa Fe), Uruguay (Rocha and San José), and Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil, from 0-500m asl. It has apparentlydisappeared from at least two sites in Uruguay (Rocha, in Laguna de Castillos, and San Jose, in Delta del Tigre). Itis rare in Argentina. This frog occurs in grasslands on the ground near temporary waterbodies, and also occurs inroadside ditches and in irrigated cropland. The eggs are laid on the bottom of temporary ponds. Habitat loss (dueto agricultural development and housing development) is a major threat, as is water and soil pollution due to agriculture,industry, and human settlement. It is sometimes subject to persecution because of unfounded beliefs thatit is venomous. It is also collected for the international pet trade and its eggs are sold internationally for scientificresearch. It occurs in some protected areas.Bibliography: Braun, P.C. and Braun, C.A.S. (1980), Cei, J.M. (1980), Cochran, D.M. (1955), Di Tada, I.E. et al. (1996), Gambarotta, J.C.,Saralegui, A. and Gonzalez, E.M. (1999), Langone, J.A. (1994), Lavilla, E.O. et al. (2000), Lavilla, E.O. and Cei, J.M. (2001), Lynch, J.D.(1982a), Maneyro, R. and Langone, J.A. (2001), Salas, N.E. et al. (1998)Data Providers: Axel Kwet, Gabriel Skuk, Débora Silvano, Esteban Lavilla, Ismael di Tada, Rafael LajmanovichCraugastor berkenbuschii (Peters, 1870)This species occurs from the Atlantic foothills and slopes of south-eastern San Luis Potosi and northern Veracruz, tonorthern Oaxaca to the isthmus of Tehuantepec, Mexico. It is known from 400-1,900m asl. This is a common species,although recent surveys in Oaxaca, Mexico, indicate that it has disappeared from some sites. It prefers rocky streamsin premontane and lower montane wet forests, and is a direct developing species. Intense and rapid disappearance ofcloud forests is a major threat. Recently documented declines in Oaxaca could be due to chytridiomycosis. Its rangedoes not include any protected areas and urgent protection of the cloud forest remnants in Mexico is required. Furtherwork should be conducted to determine whether or not the recently documented declines are due to chytridiomycosis.This species is protected by Mexican law under the “Special Protection” category (Pr).Taxonomy: This species was previously within the genus Eleutherodactylus (Crawford and Smith 2005).Bibliography: Campbell, J.A. and Savage, J.M. (2000), Crawford, A.J. and Smith, E.N. (2005), Lips, K.R. et al. (2004)Data Providers: Georgina Santos-Barrera, Oscar Flores-VillelaCraugastor chac (Savage, 1987)This species occurs on the Atlantic versant from central Belize and central Guatemala to the La Ceiba city area on thenorthern coast of Honduras, from 20-1,000m asl. It is common in Guatemala, but relatively uncommon elsewhere. Itlives on the forest floor in lowland moist forest and premontane wet forest, and also in cocoa plantations and degradedforest. It breeds by direct development. The major threat to it is habitat loss due to agricultural development for thecultivation of crops and livestock grazing, logging, development of infrastructure for human settlement, and fire. It isfound in several protected areas in all three countries in which it occurs.