Atelopus

Atelopus is a large genus of Bufonidae, commonly known as harlequin frogs or toads, from Central and South America, ranging as far north as Costa Rica and as far south as Bolivia. Atelopus species are small, generally brightly colored, and diurnal. Most species are associated with mid-to-high elevation streams.

This genus has been greatly affected by amphibian declines, with about 70% of species now considered endangered or extinct.[1] While threatened by habitat loss, pollution, and introduced species, the primary cause of these declines appears to be the chytrid fungus Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis.[2][3]

Almost 40% of the described species in the genus are considered possibly extinct; this is raised to 45% when data deficient species are added; this number may be even higher, given that the genus contains many undescribed species that could also be extinct, and many of the species considered critically endangered but extant may have gone extinct after the last surveys that detected them, or could go extinct in the future.[4] For example, there are 32 known Atelopus species (including half a dozen undescribed) in Ecuador. One of these is data deficient (its status is unclear), two are endangered and the remaining are critically endangered.[5] Almost half the Ecuador species have not been recorded in a decade or more and are likely extinct. In some species conservationists have established captive colonies as a safeguard.[5] However, of 80 species that had not been seen since the 1950s, 32 have been sighted in the 21st Century, albeit at dangerously low population numbers.[1] Among the Atelopus species that have been rediscovered decades after their last sighting have been A. arsyescue, A. mindoensis, A. bomolochos, A. ignescens, A. balios, A. longirostris, A. subornatus, A. varius, A. carbonerensis and possibly A. guanujo. The mechanism whereby these species survived extinction remains to be discovered.[1][6]

New Atelopus species are discovered with some regularity, and many new species have been described in the last decade. Among others, a new subspecies, popularly dubbed the purple fluorescent frog, was discovered in 2007 by scientists Paul Ouboter and Jan Mol during a follow-up survey of the Nassau plateau in Suriname.[7] Leeanne Alonso from Conservation International, the organisation that led the expedition, said this frog may be threatened by illegal gold mining.[8] It was described as a new subspecies of Atelopus hoogmoedi (itself considered a subspecies of A. spumarius by some), named A. h. nassaui in 2012.[9] Two new species were also described in 2020: A. manauensis and A. moropukaqumir, both of which are highly threatened by the chytrid fungus and habitat destruction.[10][11] Another new species, A. frontizero, was described in 2021.[12]

## Species

Image | Common name | Binomial name  | Conservation status

|
|
|

| Andes stubfoot toad | Atelopus andinus Rivero, 1968 | EN IUCN
| Angelito stubfoot toad | Atelopus angelito Ardila-Robayo and Ruiz-Carranza, 1998 | CR IUCN (possibly extinct)
| Ardila's stubfoot toad | Atelopus ardila Coloma, Duellman, Almendariz, Ron, Teran-Valdez, and Guayasamin, 2010 | CR IUCN (possibly extinct)
120px | Starry night harlequin toad  | Atelopus arsyecue Rueda-Almonacid, 1994 | CR IUCN
120px | Arthur's stubfoot toad | Atelopus arthuri Peters, 1973 | CR IUCN
120px | Rio Pescado stubfoot toad | Atelopus balios Peters, 1973 | CR IUCN
120px | Purple harlequin toad | Atelopus barbotini Lescure, 1981 | LC IUCN
| Azuay stubfoot toad | Atelopus bomolochos Peters, 1973 | CR IUCN
| Boulenger's stubfoot toad | Atelopus boulengeri Peracca, 1904 | CR IUCN
|  | Atelopus calima Velásquez Trujillo, Castro Herrera, Lötters & Plewnia, 2024 |
| Rio Carauta stubfoot toad | Atelopus carauta Ruiz-Carranza & Hernández-Camacho, 1978 | DD IUCN
120px | Venezuelan yellow frog or La Carbonera stubfoot toad | Atelopus carbonerensis Rivero, 1974 | CR IUCN
120px | Guajira stubfoot toad | Atelopus carrikeri Ruthven, 1916 | EN IUCN
120px | Darien stubfoot toad or Toad Mountain harlequin frog | Atelopus certus Barbour, 1923 | CR IUCN
120px | Chiriqui harlequin frog | †Atelopus chiriquiensis Shreve, 1936 | EX IUCN
|  | Atelopus chirripoensis Savage and Bolaños, 2009 | DD IUCN
| Chocó stubfoot toad | Atelopus chocoensis Lötters, 1992 | CR IUCN (possibly extinct)
|  | Atelopus chrysocorallus La Marca, 1996 | CR IUCN
|  | Atelopus colomai Plewnia, Terán-Valdez, Culebras, Boistel, Paluh, Quezada Riera, Heine, Reyes-Puig, Salazar-Valenzuela, Guayasamin & Lötters, 2024  |
120px | Rio Faisanes stubfoot toad | Atelopus coynei Miyata, 1980 | CR IUCN
120px | Veragua stubfoot toad | Atelopus cruciger (Lichtenstein & Martens, 1856) | CR IUCN
|  | Atelopus dimorphus Lötters, 2003 | DD IUCN
| Huila stubfoot toad | Atelopus ebenoides Rivero, 1963 (possibly extinct)  | CR IUCN (possibly extinct)
120px | Elegant stubfoot toad | Atelopus elegans (Boulenger, 1882) | EN IUCN
| Peruvian harlequin frog | Atelopus epikeisthos Lötters, Schulte & Duellman, 2005 | EN IUCN
| Carabaya stubfoot toad | Atelopus erythropus Boulenger, 1903 | CR IUCN (possibly extinct)
| Malvasa stubfoot toad | Atelopus eusebianus Rivero & Granados-Díaz, 1993 | CR IUCN (possibly extinct)
|  | Atelopus eusebiodiazi Venegas, Catenazzi, Siu-Ting & Carrillo, 2008 | CR IUCN (possibly extinct)
| Mazán jambato frog | Atelopus exiguus Boettger, 1892 | EN IUCN
|  | Atelopus famelicus Rivero & Morales, 1995 | CR IUCN
| Forest stubfoot toad | Atelopus farci Lynch, 1993 | CR IUCN (possibly extinct)
120px | Cayenne stubfoot toad | Atelopus flavescens Duméril & Bibron, 1841 | VU IUCN
120px | Central Coast stubfoot toad | Atelopus franciscus Lescure, 1974 | LC IUCN
| Border harlequin frog | Atelopus frontizero Veselý & Batista, 2021 |
| Antado stubfoot toad | Atelopus galactogaster Rivero & Serna, 1993 | DD IUCN
| Giant stubfoot toad | Atelopus gigas Coloma, Duellman, Almendáriz, Ron, Terán-Valdez, and Guayasamin, 2010 | CR IUCN (possibly extinct)
120px | Pirri Range harlequin frog | Atelopus glyphus Dunn, 1931 | CR IUCN
120px | Guanujo stubfoot toad | Atelopus guanujo Coloma, 2002 | CR IUCN (possibly extinct)
| La Guitarra stubfoot toad | Atelopus guitarraensis Osorno-Muñoz, Ardila-Robayo & Ruiz-Carranza, 2001 | DD IUCN
| Morona-Santiago stubfoot toad | Atelopus halihelos Peters, 1973 | CR IUCN (possibly extinct)

|  | ''Atelopus harlequin Coloma, Plewnia, Böning, Boistel, Ellwein, Lötters, Paluh, Roca-Rey Ross & Venegas, 2025 |
|  | Atelopus histrionicus Lötters, Plewnia, Böning, Boistel, Chaparro, Coloma, Ellwein, Orsen, Paluh & Venegas, 2025 |
120px | Hoogmoed harlequin toad | Atelopus hoogmoedi Lescure, 1974 |
120px | Quito stubfoot toad | Atelopus ignescens (Cornalia, 1849) | CR IUCN
120px | San Lorenzo stubfoot toad | Atelopus laetissimus Ruiz-Carranza, Ardila-Robayo & Hernández-Camacho, 1994 | EN IUCN
120px | Limosa harlequin frog | Atelopus limosus Ibáñez, Jaramillo & Solís, 1995 | CR IUCN
|  | Atelopus loettersi De la Riva, Castroviejo-Fisher, Chaparro, Boistel, and Padial, 2011 | NT IUCN
| El Tambo stubfoot toad | Atelopus longibrachius Rivero, 1963 | EN IUCN
120px | Longnose stubfoot toad | Atelopus longirostris Cope, 1868 | CR IUCN
|  | Atelopus lozanoi Osorno-Muñoz, Ardila-Robayo & Ruiz-Carranza, 2001 (endangered)  | EN IUCN
| Lynch's stubfoot toad | Atelopus lynchi Cannatella, 1981 | CR IUCN (possibly extinct)
| Manaus harlequin frog  | Atelopus manauensis Jorge, Ferrão & Lima, 2020 |
|  | Atelopus mandingues Osorno-Muñoz, Ardila-Robayo & Ruiz-Carranza, 2001 | DD IUCN
|  | Atelopus marinkellei Cochran and Goin, 1970 | EN IUCN
| Mindo stubfoot toad | Atelopus mindoensis Peters, 1973 | CR IUCN
| Colombian stubfoot toad | Atelopus minutulus Ruiz-Carranza, Hernández-Camacho & Ardila-Robayo, 1988 | CR IUCN (possibly extinct)
| Mittermeier's stubfoot toad | Atelopus mittermeieri Acosta-Galvis, Rueda-Almonacid, Velásquez-Álvarez, Sánchez-Pacheco & Peña Prieto, 2006 | EN IUCN
| Hernandez's stubfoot toad | Atelopus monohernandezii Ardila-Robayo, Osorno-Muñoz & Ruiz-Carranza, 2002 | CR IUCN (possibly extinct)
|  | Atelopus moropukaqumir Herrera-Alva, Díaz, Castillo, Rodolfo & Catenazzi, 2020 |
120px | Mucubaji stubfoot toad | Atelopus mucubajiensis Rivero, 1974 | CR IUCN
| La Arboleda stubfoot toad | Atelopus muisca Rueda-Almonacid & Hoyos, 1992 | CR IUCN
120px |  | Atelopus nahumae Ruiz-Carranza, Ardila-Robayo & Hernández-Camacho, 1994 | EN IUCN
| Sad harlequin frog | Atelopus nanay Coloma, 2002 | CR IUCN
| Gualecenita stubfoot toad | Atelopus nepiozomus Peters, 1973 | EN IUCN
| Niceforo's stubfoot toad | Atelopus nicefori Rivero, 1963 | CR IUCN (possibly extinct)
| Nocturnal harlequin toad | Atelopus nocturnus Bravo-Valencia and Rivera-Correa, 2011 | CR IUCN
|  | Atelopus onorei Coloma, Lötters, Duellman & Miranda-Leiva, 2007 | CR IUCN (possibly extinct)
|  | Atelopus orcesi Coloma, Duellman, Almendáriz, Ron, Terán-Valdez & Guayasamin, 2010 | CR IUCN (possibly extinct)
|  | Atelopus oxapampae Lehr, Lötters, and Lundberg, 2008 | EN IUCN
| Rednose stubfoot toad | Atelopus oxyrhynchus Boulenger, 1903 | CR IUCN (possibly extinct)
| Schmidt's stubfoot toad | Atelopus pachydermus (Schmidt, 1857) | CR IUCN (possibly extinct)
120px | Andersson's stubfoot toad | Atelopus palmatus Andersson, 1945 | CR IUCN
| Pastuso harlequin frog | Atelopus pastuso Andersson, 1945 | CR IUCN (possibly extinct)
120px | Pataz stubfoot toad | Atelopus patazensis Venegas, Catenazzi, Siu-Ting & Carrillo, 2008 | CR IUCN
| San Isidro stubfoot toad | Atelopus pedimarmoratus Rivero, 1963 | CR IUCN (possibly extinct)
| Peru stubfoot toad | Atelopus peruensis Gray & Cannatella, 1985 | CR IUCN (possibly extinct)
120px | Peters' stubfoot toad | Atelopus petersi Coloma, Lötters, Duellman & Miranda-Leiva, 2007 | CR IUCN (possibly extinct)
| Painted stubfoot toad | Atelopus petriruizi Ardila-Robayo, 1999 | CR IUCN (possibly extinct)
|  | Atelopus pictiventris Kattan, 1986 | CR IUCN (possibly extinct)
| Pinango stubfoot toad | Atelopus pinangoi Rivero, 1982 | CR IUCN (possibly extinct)
| Napo stubfoot toad | Atelopus planispina Jiménez de la Espada, 1875 | CR IUCN (possibly extinct)
| Podocarpus stubfoot toad | Atelopus podocarpus Coloma, Duellman, Almendáriz, Ron, Terán-Valdez, and Guayasamin, 2010 | CR IUCN
120px | Río Huallaga stubfoot toad | Atelopus pulcher Boulenger, 1882 | VU IUCN
|  | Atelopus pyrodactylus Venegas & Barrio, 2006 | CR IUCN
| Quimbaya toad | Atelopus quimbaya Ruiz-Carranza & Osorno-Muñoz, 1994 | CR IUCN (possibly extinct)
|  | Atelopus reticulatus Lötters, Haas, Schick & Böhme, 2002 | DD IUCN
| Anori stubfoot toad | Atelopus sanjosei Rivero & Serna, 1989 | CR IUCN
| Upper Amazon stubfoot toad | Atelopus seminiferus Cope, 1874 | EN IUCN
| Pass stubfoot toad | †Atelopus senex Taylor, 1952 | EX IUCN
| Baldias harlequin toad | Atelopus sernai Ruiz-Carranza & Osorno-Muñoz, 1994 | CR IUCN (possibly extinct)
| Camouflaged harlequin toad | Atelopus simulatus Ruiz-Carranza & Osorno-Muñoz, 1994 | CR IUCN (possibly extinct)
|  | Atelopus siranus Lötters &Henzl, 2000 | DD IUCN
| Sonsón stubfoot toad | Atelopus sonsonensis Vélez-Rodriguez & Ruiz-Carranza, 1997 | CR IUCN (possibly extinct)
| Cloud forest stubfoot toad | Atelopus sorianoi La Marca, 1983 | CR IUCN (possibly extinct)
120px | Pebas stubfoot toad | Atelopus spumarius Cope, 1871 | VU IUCN
120px | Condoto stubfoot toad | Atelopus spurrelli Boulenger, 1914 | NT IUCN
| Bogota stubfoot toad | Atelopus subornatus Werner, 1899 | CR IUCN
120px | Venezuela stubfoot toad | Atelopus tamaensis La Marca, García-Pérez & Renjifo, 1990 | CR IUCN
120px | Three-colored stubfoot toad | Atelopus tricolor Boulenger, 1902 | CR IUCN
120px | Veragoa stubfoot toad | Atelopus varius (Lichtenstein & Martens, 1856) | CR IUCN
| Maracay harlequin frog | †Atelopus vogli Müller, 1934 | EX IUCN
| Walker's stubfoot toad | Atelopus walkeri Rivero, 1963 | DD IUCN
120px | Panamanian golden frog | Atelopus zeteki Dunn, 1933 | CR IUCN (possibly extinct in the wild)

## References

1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Kreier, Freda (3 December 2022). "These frogs aren't extinct after all". Science News 202 (10): 6.
2. ↑ Lötters, Kielgast, Bielby, Schmidtlein, Bosch, Veith, Walker, Fisher, Rödder (2009). The Link Between Rapid Enigmatic Amphibian Decline and the Globally Emerging Chytrid Fungus. EcoHealth 6(3): 358–372
3. ↑ Stuart, Hoffmann, Chanson, Cox, Berridge, Ramani and Young, editors (2008). Threatened Amphibians of the World. Pp. 100, 160–178. ISBN 978-84-96553-41-5
4. ↑ "The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species". https://www.iucnredlist.org/search?taxonomies=115869&searchType=species.
5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 Tapia, Elicio Eladio; Coloma, Luis Aurelio; Pazmiño-Otamendi, Gustavo; Peñafiel, Nicolás (2017). "Rediscovery of the nearly extinct longnose harlequin frog Atelopus longirostris (Bufonidae) in Junín, Imbabura, Ecuador". Neotropical Biodiversity 3: 157–167. doi:10.1080/23766808.2017.1327000.
6. ↑ "A tale of two frogs: The tough uphill battle for rediscovered species" (in en-US). 2024-06-04. https://news.mongabay.com/2024/06/a-tale-of-two-frogs-the-tough-uphill-battle-for-rediscovered-species/.
7. ↑ "MSN". https://www.nbcnews.com/id/wbna19028712.
8. ↑ Zabarenko, Deborah (2007-06-04). "Purple frog among 24 new species found in Suriname". Reuters. https://www.reuters.com/article/scienceNews/idUSN0449513020070604.
9. ↑ Amphibians of Suriname, Paul E. Ouboter and Rawien Jairam, Brill 2012, ISBN 978-90-04-21075-2
10. ↑ Herrera-Alva, Valia; Díaz, Vladimir; Castillo, Ernesto; Rodolfo, César; Catenazzi, Alessandro (2020-09-23). "A new species of Atelopus (Anura: Bufonidae) from southern Peru" (in en). Zootaxa 4853 (3): 404–420. doi:10.11646/zootaxa.4853.3.4. ISSN 1175-5334. PMID 33056367. https://www.biotaxa.org/Zootaxa/article/view/zootaxa.4853.3.4.
11. ↑ Jorge, Rafael F.; Ferrão, Miquéias; Lima, Albertina P. (August 2020). "Out of Bound: A New Threatened Harlequin Toad (Bufonidae, Atelopus) from the Outer Borders of the Guiana Shield in Central Amazonia Described through Integrative Taxonomy" (in en). Diversity 12 (8): 310. doi:10.3390/d12080310.
12. ↑ Veselý, Milan; Batista, Abel (2021). "A new species of Atelopus (Amphibia: Bufonidae) from eastern Panama" (in en). Zoological Research 42 (3): 272–279. doi:10.24272/j.issn.2095-8137.2020.319. ISSN 2095-8137. PMID 33797210.

## External links

| Wikispecies has information related to Atelopus

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* Atelopus.com - Fighting to Survive
* Ranas Arlequines
* Bufonidae. Amphibiaweb

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