''Allobates humilis'' (common name: Bocono rocket frog) is a species of

frog A frog is any member of a diverse and largely semiaquatic group of short-bodied, tailless amphibian vertebrates composing the order (biology), order Anura (coming from the Ancient Greek , literally 'without tail'). Frog species with rough ski ...

in the family

Aromobatidae The Aromobatidae are a family of frogs native to Central and South America. They are sometimes referred to as cryptic forest frogs or cryptic poison frogs. They are the sister taxon of the Dendrobatidae, the poison dart frogs, but are not as tox ...

. It is

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found only in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also foun ...

to western

Venezuela Venezuela, officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, is a country on the northern coast of South America, consisting of a continental landmass and many Federal Dependencies of Venezuela, islands and islets in the Caribbean Sea. It com ...

where it is known from the Trujillo and Barinas states.

Habitat

Its natural

habitat In ecology, habitat refers to the array of resources, biotic factors that are present in an area, such as to support the survival and reproduction of a particular species. A species' habitat can be seen as the physical manifestation of its ...

s are seasonal

montane forest Montane ecosystems are found on the slopes of mountains. The alpine climate in these regions strongly affects the ecosystem because temperatures lapse rate, fall as elevation increases, causing the ecosystem to stratify. This stratification is ...

and

cloud forest A cloud forest, also called a water forest, primas forest, or tropical montane cloud forest, is a generally tropical or subtropical, evergreen, Montane forest, montane, Tropical and subtropical moist broadleaf forests, moist forest characteri ...

in the Venezuelan Andes, where it has been observed between 1100 and 1470 meters above sea level. This locally common frog is associated with temporary ponds. This frog has been observed in one protected park: Parque Nacional Guaramacal.

Threats

The IUCN classifies this frog as endangered. It is threatened by

habitat loss Habitat destruction (also termed habitat loss or habitat reduction) occurs when a natural habitat is no longer able to support its native species. The organisms once living there have either moved elsewhere, or are dead, leading to a decrease ...

in favor of human habitation and infrastructure; the lagoon at the type locality (near

Boconó Boconó is a city in the Venezuelan Andes, Andean state of Trujillo (state), Trujillo. Founded in 1560, this city is the County seat, shire town of the Boconó Municipality and, according to the 2001 Venezuelan census, the municipality has a popu ...

) has already disappeared.

References

humilis Amphibians of the Andes Amphibians of Venezuela Endemic fauna of Venezuela Taxa named by Juan A. Rivero Taxonomy articles created by Polbot Amphibians described in 1976 {{Aromobatidae-stub