Chaunus amabilis

Chaunus amabilis
Chaunus amabilis
Conservation status
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Amphibia
Order: Anura
Family: Bufonidae
Genus: Chaunus
Species: C. amabilis
Binomial name
Chaunus amabilis
Pramuk & Kadivar, 2003
Synonyms

Bufo amabilis


Chaunus amabilis is a species of toad in the Bufonidae family. It is endemic to Ecuador, only occurring in a severely-fragmented area less than 100 square kilometres (39 sq mi).[1] Its natural habitats are freshwater marshes and irrigated land.

Contents

Range

This species is known only from elevations of 2,050 to 2,200 metres (6,730–7,200 ft) above sea level in the Loja Basin, an inter-Andean valley in Loja Province, Ecuador.[2] It is likely to have a restricted distribution, and recent surveys confirm this.

Conservation status

It is currently listed as Critically Endangered, in view of its small and fragmentary extent of occurrence and the fact that there is a continuing decline in the extent and quality of its habitat.[1]

The apparent declines of this species might in part be due to the modification of much of the Loja basin area for agriculture, urbanization, and other regional development. It appears that populations of this toad in the area surrounding Provincia Loja have been severely affected by human activities.[2] Disease might also be a factor but there is no evidence to confirm this.[1]

Population

Past collections indicate that the species was fairly common at areas nearby creeks, even near plantations; however, surveys undertaken between 1989 and 2001 failed to find the species. It appears that it has not been collected since 1968, and a serious decrease might have taken place.[3]

Habitat and Ecology

The species has been collected in small pools and irrigation canals. Little is known of its habitat requirements or ecology, but breeding is presumed to take place in freshwater by larval development.[3]

References

  1. ^ a b c Pramuk and Kadivar (2003). "Bufo amabilis". Global Amphibian Assessment. http://www.globalamphibians.org/servlet/GAA?sourceTemplate=Ltabular_report.wmt&loadTemplate=Ldetail_report.wmt&selectedReport=&summaryView=Ltabular_report.wmt&elKey=49115&paging=home&save=true&startIndex=1&nextStartIndex=1&reset=false&offPageSelectedElKey=49115&offPageSelectedElType=species&offPageYesNo=true&selectedIndexes=49115. Retrieved 2007-11-29. 
  2. ^ a b Pramuk, J.B. and Kadivar, F. (2003). "A new species of Bufo (Anura: Bufonidae) from southern Ecuador". Herpetologica 59 (2): 270–283. doi:10.1655/0018-0831(2003)059[0270:ANSOBA]2.0.CO;2. 
  3. ^ a b Coloma, L.A. (2006). "Bufo amabilis". 2007 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. http://www.iucnredlist.org/search/details.php/54568/all. Retrieved 2007-11-29. 
  • Frost, Darrel; Grant, Taran; Faivovich, JuliÁN; Bain, Raoul H.; Haas, Alexander; Haddad, CÉLIO F.B.; De SÁ, Rafael O.; Channing, Alan et al. (2006). "The Amphibian Tree of Life". Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History 297: 1–371. doi:10.1206/0003-0090(2006)297[0001:TATOL]2.0.CO;2. 
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