Telmatobius

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]

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

Batrachophrynus Peters, 1873

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]

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References
  1. 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.
  4. "Telmatobiidae". AmphibiaWeb: Information on amphibian biology and conservation. [web application]. Berkeley, California: AmphibiaWeb. 2015. Retrieved 23 May 2015.
  5. 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. Stuart, Hoffmann, Chanson, Cox, Berridge, Ramani and Young, editors (2008). Threatened Amphibians of the World. ISBN 978-84-96553-41-5
  9. 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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