Telmatobius

Telmatobius
Telmatobius species from altiplan lakes in northern Chile.
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Amphibia
Order: Anura
Family: Telmatobiidae
Fitzinger, 1843
Genus: Telmatobius
Wiegmann, 1834
Diversity
62 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] However, some sources recognize Batrachophrynus as a valid genus distinct from Telmatobius.[3][4]

Ecology and conservation

All species are closely associated with water and some are entirely aquatic. It contains more than 50 species; the vast majority seriously threatened, especially from habitat loss, pollution, diseases (chytridiomycosis and nematode infections) and capture for human consumption.[5][6] The huge Titicaca water frog (T. culeus), made famous by Jacques Cousteau, also faces these risks. 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][6]

Species

The 62 Telmatobius species are:[1]

References

  1. 1 2 Frost, Darrel R. (2015). "Telmatobius Wiegmann, 1834". Amphibian Species of the World: an Online Reference. Version 6.0. American Museum of Natural History. Retrieved 23 May 2015.
  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. 1 2 Angulo (2009). Conservation Needs of Batrachophrynus and Telmatobius Frogs of the Andes of Peru. Conservation and Society. 6(4): 328-333.
  6. 1 2 Stuart, Hoffmann, Chanson, Cox, Berridge, Ramani and Young, editors (2008). Threatened Amphibians of the World. ISBN 978-84-96553-41-5
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