The Guajira stubfoot toad or Carrikeri harlequin frog (''Atelopus carrikeri'') is a species of

toad Toad is a common name for certain frogs, especially of the family Bufonidae, that are characterized by dry, leathery skin, short legs, and large bumps covering the parotoid glands. A distinction between frogs and toads is not made in scientif ...

in the family Bufonidae. It is about 5 cm (2.0 in) long and typically black, though some populations have orange coloration. This species is

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found 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 found elsew ...

to the

Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta The Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta (English: ''Snow-Covered Mountain Range of Saint Martha'') is an isolated mountain range in northern Colombia, separate from the Andes range that runs through the north of the country. Reaching an elevation of ...

mountain range of northern

Colombia Colombia (, ; ), officially the Republic of Colombia, is a country in South America with insular regions in North America—near Nicaragua's Caribbean coast—as well as in the Pacific Ocean. The Colombian mainland is bordered by the Car ...

. It is critically endangered because of the

chytrid fungus Chytridiomycota are a division of zoosporic organisms in the kingdom Fungi, informally known as chytrids. The name is derived from the Ancient Greek ('), meaning "little pot", describing the structure containing unreleased zoöspores. Chytrids ...

, '' Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis'', and

habitat destruction Habitat destruction (also termed habitat loss and habitat reduction) is the process by which a natural habitat becomes incapable of supporting its native species. The organisms that previously inhabited the site are displaced or dead, thereby ...

due to agriculture. The species had not been seen from 1994 until it was rediscovered in early 2008.

Taxonomy

This species was initially described by Alexander G. Ruthven in 1916 from specimens collected by M. A. Carriker, Jr., in 1914. In 1994, a new species, ''Atelopus leoperezii'', was described, only to later be determined to be the Guajira stubfoot toad. Its closest relative is believed to be ''

Atelopus ignescens ''Atelopus ignescens'', the Jambato toad or Quito stubfoot toad or Jambato harlequin frog, is a species of toad in the family Bufonidae. It is endemic to the northern Andes of Ecuador. This once abundant species was believed to be extinct until i ...

'' of Ecuador.

Description

The frog is about 5.0 cm long. It has at least two color phases, with the rarer orange population being the one recently rediscovered. However, the frog is typically all black, although it is a slightly lighter shade on its belly. In adults, the skin is smooth except for a patch of spiny warts on the side. The area that these warts cover varies, with some specimens displaying them from their eyes to their arms and others displaying it from their eyes to their

femur The femur (; ), or thigh bone, is the proximal bone of the hindlimb in tetrapod vertebrates. The head of the femur articulates with the acetabulum in the pelvic bone forming the hip joint, while the distal part of the femur articulates with ...

s. One specimen even had the warts covering the entire body. The Guajira stubfoot toad has short legs with rounded fingers and toes. While its fingers are unwebbed, its toes are broadly webbed, though its first toe is distinct. Its head is as broad as it is long.

Distribution and habitat

It is

to about in northern

. Its natural

habitat In ecology, the term habitat summarises the array of resources, physical and 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 ...

s are sub-Andean and Andean

cloud forest A cloud forest, also called a water forest, primas forest, or tropical montane cloud forest (TMCF), is a generally tropical or subtropical, evergreen, montane, moist forest characterized by a persistent, frequent or seasonal low-level cloud c ...

s, and

páramo Páramo () can refer to a variety of alpine tundra ecosystems located in the Andes Mountain Range, South America. Some ecologists describe the páramo broadly as "all high, tropical, montane vegetation above the continuous timberline". A narrower ...

. In addition, it is known to survive in snow-covered areas. It is found at elevations between 2,350 and 4,800 m. It can tolerate some habitat modification, but habitat loss caused by agriculture remains a threat.

Ecology

This species lays its eggs in chains in freshwater mountain streams, where its

tadpole A tadpole is the larval stage in the biological life cycle of an amphibian. Most tadpoles are fully aquatic, though some species of amphibians have tadpoles that are terrestrial. Tadpoles have some fish-like features that may not be found i ...

s develop.

Conservation

While the frog was common historically, it is currently endangered due to

habitat loss Habitat destruction (also termed habitat loss and habitat reduction) is the process by which a natural habitat becomes incapable of supporting its native species. The organisms that previously inhabited the site are displaced or dead, thereby ...

from agriculture,

climate change In common usage, climate change describes global warming—the ongoing increase in global average temperature—and its effects on Earth's climate system. Climate change in a broader sense also includes previous long-term changes to E ...

, crop fumigation, and, most significantly, the virulent

, '' Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis''. This fungus was predicted to lower the population of the species by over 80%. This toad was rediscovered after an absence of 14 years by a Project ''Atelopus'' team in early 2008 in the

mountains of Magdalena, Colombia.

References

External links

Picture of species
{{Taxonbar, from=Q2275494 Atelopus Amphibians of Colombia Endemic fauna of Colombia Amphibians described in 1916 Taxa named by Alexander Grant Ruthven Taxonomy articles created by Polbot Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta