''Telmatobufo venustus'' 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

Calyptocephalellidae The Calyptocephalellidae are a family of toads (although not true members of the Bufonidae) found in Chile containing two living genera, '' Calyptocephalella'' and '' Telmatobufo.'' The genus ''Calyptocephalella'' contains one living species, ...

. 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 ...

Chile Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in western South America. It is the southernmost country in the world and the closest to Antarctica, stretching along a narrow strip of land between the Andes, Andes Mountains and the Paci ...

and occurs on the western slopes of the

Andes The Andes ( ), Andes Mountains or Andean Mountain Range (; ) are the List of longest mountain chains on Earth, longest continental mountain range in the world, forming a continuous highland along the western edge of South America. The range ...

in Maule and Bío Bío Regions. 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 streams in temperate ''

Nothofagus ''Nothofagus'', also known as the southern beeches, is a genus of 43 species of trees and shrubs native to the Southern Hemisphere, found across southern South America (Chile, Argentina) and east and southeast Australia, New Zealand, New Guin ...

'' forests where it is found under rocks along the streams. The only stable population is in the Altos de Lircay National Reserve in Maule. The only other localities, both in the Bío Bío Region, are its type locality in Chillan, where it was not found in 2014, and Ralco where it was last observed in 1981. 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 ...

caused by fires, conversion of native habitat to pine and eucalyptus plantations, and in Ralco, hydropower dams. Trout in Altos de Lircay are also a threat.

References

venustus Amphibians of Chile Endemic fauna of Chile Taxa named by Rodolfo Amando Philippi Amphibians described in 1899 Taxonomy articles created by Polbot {{Neobatrachia-stub