the journal of biodiversity data Check List NOTES ON GEOGRAPHIC DISTRIBUTION Check List 17 (3): 765-768 https://doi.org/10.15560/17.3.765 > PENSUFT. A new occurrence record for the Vulnerable Rhinella rumbolli (Carrizo, 1992) (Anura, Bufonidae) in Tarija, Bolivia Patricia Mendoza-Miranda"’, Beatriz Nieto-Ariza*, Marisol Hidalgo-Cossio’, Ximena Velez-Liendo*> 1 Bolivian Amphibian Initiative, Cochabamba, Bolivia * patty_bio09@yahoo.com 2 Pucarara Project, Ivirgarzama-Cochabamba, Bolivia * sonneratia@gmail.com 3 Museo de Historia Natural Alcide d’Orbigny, Cochabamba, Bolivia * hidalgocossio.marisol@gmail.com 4 Wildlife Conservation Research Unit, Recanti-Kaplan Centre, Tubney, United Kingdom * x.velezliendo@gmail.com 5 Chester Zoo, Chester, United Kingdom. * Corresponding author Abstract We present a new altitudinal record for Salta Toad, Rhinella rumbolli (Carrizo, 1992). This species is recorded in northern Argentina and southern Bolivia from 700 to 1800 ma.s.1. Our new record comes from San Lorencito, Méndez Province, Tarija Department, Bolivia, and extends the altitudinal range by 569 m a.s.l. Keywords Altitudinal range, Amphibia, distribution, Salta Toad, Tucumano Boliviano forest Academic editor: Natan Medeiros Maciel | Received 8 February 2021 | Accepted 27 March 2021 | Published 13 May 2021 Citation: Mendoza-Miranda P, Nieto-Ariza B, Hidalgo-Cossio M, Velez-Liendo X (2021) A new occurrence record for the Vulnerable Rhinella rumbolli (Carrizo, 1992) (Anura, Bufonidae) in Tarija, Bolivia. Check List 17 (3): 765-768. https://doi.org/10.15560/17.3.765 Introduction In Bolivia, bufonid frogs are represented by 23 species distributed into six genera: Amazophrynella Fouquet et al., 2012, Atelopus Duméril & Bibron, 1841, Melano- phryniscus Gallardo, 1961, Nannophryne Gunther, 1870, Rhaebo Cope, 1862, and Rhinella Fitzinger, 1826. The last genus is the most specious, with 17 species (De la Riva and Reichle 2014) present in 10 of the 12 ecoregions of Bolivia (Ibish et al. 2003). Rhinella rumbolli (Carrizo, 1992) is the most south- ernly occurring toad within the R. veraguensis group (Pramuk 2006). It is found in some localities of Salta and Jujuy provinces, Parque Nacional Calilegua, Parque Nacional Baritu, and Reserva Nacional El Nogalar de Los Toldos in Argentina (Carrizo 1992; Vaira et al. 2012; Schocchi and Kretzschmar 2017). In Bolivia, its distri- bution was restricted to the Reserva Nacional de Flora y Fauna Tariquia and Parque Nacional y Area Natural de Manejo Integrado Serrania del Aguaragtie, both in Tarija Department (Mufioz and Aguayo 2009). Thus, as currently known, this species’ distribution extends from northern Argentina to southern Bolivia. The natural history of R. rumbolli is limited to only a few studies on the biology of the species (e.g., Carrizo 1992: Haad et al. 2014; Pereyra et al. 2015). Although Mufioz and Aguayo (2009) classified R. rumbolli as Vul- nerable in Bolivia, it is considered to be globally Near ©The authors. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY 4.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited. 766 Threatened according to the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN 2020). Based on the lim- ited information on this species, especially in Bolivia, we contribute new altitudinal records of R. rumbolli. Methods Surveys were carried out on 6—12 February 2020 as part of a biodiversity assessment. We intensively searched along transects. Each transect was 50 m long by 2 m wide and was searched for 30 minutes per person. We used the visual encounter surveys “VES” method (Crump and Scott 1994), which can be used to measure species com- position and relative abundance in a study area. At each location, a geographic position was recorded with a GPS receiver using the UTM system, as well as the altitude. We also noted a general description of the area. The individuals were manipulated following biose- curity protocols (Aguirre and Lampo 2006). Measure- ments were carried out using manual calipers. One specimen was euthanized in 25% ethanol (Cortez et al. 2006). Muscle and liver tissue samples were preserved in 96% ethanol. The collected specimen was fixed in 10% formalin (Simmons and Mufioz-Saba 2005), kept in 70% ethanol, and deposited at the Natural History Museum Alcide d’Orbigny (MHNAD) in Cochabamba, Bolivia. Check List 17 (3) All permits were granted by the Environment Ministry of Bolivia (MMAyA-VMA-DGBAP-003 no. dictamen MMAyA-VMA-DGBAP 0038/10 and VMABCC no. 026/09). Results New records. BOLIVIA ¢ Tarija Department, Méndez Province, San Lorencito, edge of San Lorencito River, 21°09'41.80"S, 064°28'26.01"W, 2,369 m asl; 12 Feb 2020; P. Mendoza-Miranda & B. Nieto-Ariza, leg.; at 23:25 h, 1 specimen, juvenile, snout—vent length 26.6 mm, MHNC-A 2771/PMM-100 (Fig. 1) * Tarija Depart- ment, Méndez Province, San Lorencito, edge of San Lorencito River, 21°09'26.72"S, 064°27'44.61"W; 2,015 m a.s.l.; 10 Feb 2020; P. Mendoza-Miranda & B. Nieto- Ariza, obs.; at 12:19 h, 1 specimen, juvenile, not col- lected; hidden under leaf litter and medium-sized rocks. Identification. Based on the description by Carrizo (1992), the two individuals were identified as R. rum- bolli by the presence of a well-developed supraorbital crest and supratympanic crest, a sharp preorbital crest, a very prominent, ovoid paratoid gland, a small tympa- num, medium-length fingers and toes with the first fin- ger slightly shorter than the second, a more conspicuous dorsolateral chain from paratoid to groin, glands on the Figure 1. Rhinella rumbolli juvenile, MHNC-A 2771/PMM-100, collected at San Lorencito, Méndez province, Tarija Department, Bolivia, in the Boliviano Tucumano ecoregion. Photograph: Kenny Ure. Mendoza-Miranda et al. | New record for Rhinella rumbolli, Bolivia forelimbs and absent on the hind limbs, and barely evi- dent interdigital membranes on the hands but the exten- sive on the feet (almost reaching the tips of the fingers). Rhinella rumbolli differs from the only known sympatric species in the study area, R. arenarum (Hensel, 1867), in that the latter has a less marked cephalic crest, no supra- orbital crest, elongate paratoid glands with an irregular contour that extends beyond the armpit, no interdigital membranes on the forelimbs but incomplete interdigital membranes in the hind limbs, a slightly granular belly, and a clear, uniform, whitish, gray, or greenish-yellow color (Duport 2020). Discussion Records of Rhinella rumbolli in Argentina indicate that this species has an altitudinal range from 700 to 1700 m a.s.l. (Carrizo 1992; Vaira 2002; Vaira et al. 2012; Haad et al. 2014; Pereyra et al. 2015; Schocchi et al. 2017; IUCN 2020). However, information on this species in Bolivia is sparse, this species 1s only mentioned in the red book of wildlife of vertebrates of Bolivia (e.g., Aguirre et al. 2009). Mufioz and Aguayo (2009) reported this species from Parque Nacional y Area Natural de Manejo Inte- grado Serrania del Aguaragtie and Reserva Nacional de Flora y Fauna Tariquia, both in Tarija Department, estab- lishing its altitudinal distribution from 700 to 1800 m a.s.1. This Here, we provide the first records of R. rumbolli from San Lorencito, Méndez Province, Tarija Depart- ment. The highest of these two records was at 2,369 m a.s.l., highest known record for the species, and extends the known maximum elevation of this species 569 m. San Lorencito is 103 km northwest from Aguaragtie (Fig. 2). The new records are also the first in Bolivia from outside a protected area, opening up a vast opportunity 767 to expand the conservation and research efforts for this species throughout the Boliviano-Tucumano ecoregion. At the 2019 IUCN Bolivia Red List Assessment Work- shop, deforestation for livestock pastures and agricul- tural crops, road development, and oil exploration were identified as major threats to R. rumbolli populations (IUCN 2020). Amphibians are the most threatened class of ver- tebrates (Catenazzi 2015). Our new records not only increase our knowledge of R. rumbolli but provide new opportunities to help save this species and its habitat. Additional study investigating the biology, ecology, and conservation of this species is still required. Acknowledgements Our study was part of a biodiversity assessment carried out under the project “Andean bears and people: coex- istence through poverty reduction”, which was funded by the Darwin Initiative in collaboration with Chester Zoo, WildCRU, PROMETA, and the Natural History Museum Alcides d’Orbigny. We thank Arturo Mufioz who helped in the identification of specimens and to the reviewers for their valuable comments. 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