Brachycephalus ephippium: Pumpkin toadlet

Pumpkin toadlet - Brachycephalus ephippium
( Spix, 1824 )

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Subspecies:	Unknown
Est. World Population:

CITES Status:	NOT LISTED
IUCN Status:	Least Concern
U.S. ESA Status:	NOT LISTED

Body Length:
Tail Length:
Shoulder Height:
Weight:

Top Speed:
Jumping Ability:	(Horizontal)

Life Span:	in the Wild
Life Span:	in Captivity

Sexual Maturity:	(Females)
Sexual Maturity:	(Males)
Litter Size:
Gestation Period:

Habitat:

This species inhabits the leaf litter of lowland and montane primary forest, and both mature and new secondary regrowth forests in the Atlantic Forest biome. It has been recorded in both large areas and small fragments of forest created by deforestation. Individuals are active above the leaf litter during the day, particularly when humidity is high, and take shelter under the litter, rotting logs or tree roots when humidity is low (Polettini Neto 2013). It is a forest-obligate species, it has not been recorded from anthropogenic habitats, and has only been observed in primary and secondary forest. It breeds by direct development, not requiring water, and the egg clutch is deposited on the forest floor and covered with soil particles by the female (Pombal Jr. et al. 1994, Pombal Jr. 1999).

Range:

This Brazilian endemic species is known primarily from montane regions in Rio de Janeiro, São Paulo, and Minas Gerais states, but has also been found in lowland areas. It occurs from sea level up to around 1,200 m asl. The extent of occurrence (EOO) of the current known distribution is 65,032 km².

Since the 2004 assessment, records from across its distribution have been reassigned to several species: Brachycephalus bufonoides, B. crispus, B. garbeanus, B. guarani, B. margaritatus, B. pitanga, B. rotenbergae, and B. toby (Alves et al. 2009, Haddad et al. 2010, Pombal 2010, Pombal and Izecksohn 2011, Clemente-Carvalho et al. 2012, Condez et al. 2014, Condez et al. 2020, Nunes et al. 2021). However, as these are all sympatric with B. ephippium, they have not modified its distribution map. The species B. darkside (Guimarães et al. 2017) was described since the 2004 assessment, but its records were not known at the time; this is the only species in the group that is not sympatric with B. ephippium.

Conservation:

Conservation Actions In-Place
It occurs in several protected areas.

Conservation Actions Needed
Despite its wide distribution and occurrence in many protected areas, this species is a forest obligate. As a result, ongoing management of existing protected areas is needed to continue protecting the remaining forest in the region and prevent further fragmentation and degradation.

Research Needed
Further information is needed on its population size and trend. It has been recommended that the population trends of this species should be monitored over a long period of time, as it is likely to be a good indicator of the condition of the Atlantic Forest ecosystem.