Telmatobius
Telmatobius species from altiplano lakes in northern Chile.
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Amphibia
Order: Anura
Suborder: Neobatrachia
Superfamily: Hyloidea
Family: Telmatobiidae
Fitzinger, 1843
Genus: Telmatobius
Wiegmann, 1834
Diversity
63 species (see text)
Synonyms

Batrachophrynus Peters, 1873

Telmatobius is a genus of frogs native to the Andean highlands in South America, where they are found in Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia, northwestern Argentina and northern Chile.[1] It is the only genus in the family Telmatobiidae.[2] Some sources recognize Batrachophrynus as a valid genus distinct from Telmatobius.[3][4]

Ecology and conservation

All Telmatobius species are closely associated with water and most species are semi-aquatic, while a few are entirely aquatic.[5] They are found in and near lakes, rivers and wetlands in the Andean highlands at altitudes between 1,000 and 5,200 m (3,300–17,100 ft).[6] The genus includes two of the world's largest fully aquatic frogs, the Lake Junin frog (T. macrostomus) and Titicaca water frog (T. culeus),[7] but the remaining are considerably smaller. Telmatobius contains more than 60 species; the vast majority seriously threatened, especially from habitat loss, pollution, diseases (chytridiomycosis and nematode infections), introduced trout, and capture for human consumption.[5][8]

The three Ecuadorian species have not been seen for years and may already be extinct: T. cirrhacelis last seen in 1981, T. niger in 1994 and T. vellardi in 1987.[5][8] Similarly, seven of the fifteen species in Bolivia have not been seen for years.[9] However, some might still be rediscovered: the Bolivian T. yuracare had not been seen in the wild in a decade and there was only a single captive male. A few wild individuals were located in 2019, thus ending the captive male's informal status as an endling (last survivor of the species).[9]

Species

There are currently 63 species recognized in the genus Telmatobius,[1] but the validity of some species is questionable and it is likely that undescribed species remain.[10][11]

References

  1. 1 2 Frost, Darrel R. (2017). "Telmatobius Wiegmann, 1834". Amphibian Species of the World: an Online Reference. Version 6.0. American Museum of Natural History. Retrieved 9 February 2017.
  2. ↑ Frost, Darrel R. (2015). "Telmatobiidae Fitzinger, 1843". Amphibian Species of the World: an Online Reference. Version 6.0. American Museum of Natural History. Retrieved 23 May 2015.
  3. ↑ Blackburn, D.C.; Wake, D.B. (2011). "Class Amphibia Gray, 1825. In: Zhang, Z.-Q. (Ed.) Animal biodiversity: An outline of higher-level classification and survey of taxonomic richness" (PDF). Zootaxa. 3148: 39–55. doi:10.11646/zootaxa.3148.1.8.
  4. ↑ "Telmatobiidae". AmphibiaWeb: Information on amphibian biology and conservation. [web application]. Berkeley, California: AmphibiaWeb. 2015. Retrieved 23 May 2015.
  5. 1 2 3 Angulo, A. (2008). Conservation Needs of Batrachophrynus and Telmatobius Frogs of the Andes of Peru. Conservation & Society 6(4): 328-333. DOI: 10.4103/0972-4923.49196
  6. ↑ Victoriano, Muñoz-Mendoza, Sáez, Salinas, Muñoz-Ramírez, Sallaberry, Fibla and Méndez (2015). Evolution and Conservation on Top of the World: Phylogeography of the Marbled Water Frog (Telmatobius marmoratus Species Complex; Anura, Telmatobiidae) in Protected Areas of Chile. J.Hered. 106 (S1): 546-559. DOI: 10.1093/jhered/esv039
  7. ↑ Halliday, T. (2016). The Book of Frogs: A Life-Size Guide to Six Hundred Species from around the World. University Of Chicago Press. ISBN 978-0226184654
  8. 1 2 Stuart, Hoffmann, Chanson, Cox, Berridge, Ramani and Young, editors (2008). Threatened Amphibians of the World. ISBN 978-84-96553-41-5
  9. 1 2 Mayer, L.R. (14 February 2019). "A Tale Of Two Frogs (And Some Of The Biologists Who Love Them)". Global Wildlife Conservation. Retrieved 24 January 2020.
  10. ↑ De la Riva (2005). Bolivian frogs of the genus Telmatobius: synopsis, taxonomic comments, and description of a new species. Monogr. Herpetol. 7:65-101.
  11. ↑ Sáez, Fibla, Correa, Sallaberry, Salinas, Veloso, Mella, Iturra, and Méndez (2014). A new endemic lineage of the Andean frog genus Telmatobius (Anura, Telmatobiidae) from the western slopes of the central Andes. Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society 171: 769–782.
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