Geographic distribution of the rare and endangered Telmatobufo venustus (Philippi, 1899) (Anura, Calyptocephalellidae), with the description of a new locality and comments on the type locality

By

Correa, Claudio
Osses, José Ignacio
Morales, Jesús A.
Ortiz Zapata, Juan Carlos

Type

Article

Date of Publication

2023-12-22

Original Publication

Herpetozoa

Volume

36

Pages

335--343

Subjects

altitudinal range , Altos de Lircay National Reserve , Nannophryne variegata , southern limit , Tadpoles , type series

Contributed by

Pensoft Publishers

Language

English

Published by

Sofia, Bulgaria Pensoft Publishers

Identifiers

DOI: https://doi.org/10.3897/herpetozoa.36.e107328

 

Abstract

Telmatobufo venustus was one of the rarest endemic amphibians of Chile until 2020. Prior to that year, this species had been known in four localities, three of them with uncertain location, including the type locality. However, three new precise localities have been reported successively since 2020, all based on a few individuals. In this study, we review the geographic information on the species and, based on literature and other documents, tentatively locate the three localities with uncertain location published before 2020. Furthermore, we describe a new locality near the uncertain southern end of its distribution. Although the number of localities has considerably increased since 2020, the species still has a highly fragmented known distribution, its type locality and southern limit cannot be located with certainty, and it is found in only two state-protected areas. Due to these reasons and because threats to the habitat have been identified in some localities, we suggest keeping the species as Endangered.