Harlequin frog - Atelopus varius
( Lichtenstein & Martens, 1856 )

 

 

No Map Available

Warning: Undefined property: stdClass::$Photo1 in /var/www/vhosts/virtualzoo/classifications/display.php on line 584
No Photo Available No Map Available

Subspecies: Unknown
Est. World Population:

CITES Status: NOT LISTED
IUCN Status: Critically Endangered
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:
It is a terrestrial species of humid lowland and montane forest; specimens recorded at lowland rainforest localities were all found along high-gradient, rocky streams, in hilly areas (Savage 2002). It is associated with small fast-flowing streams and is often found along the banks and sitting out on rocks in streams; at night they sleep in crevices or low vegetation. However, the subpopulation in Alexander Skutch Biological Corridor behaves radically different and is seen less often on the splash zone of the river and more often on exposed vegetation 1–6 m above the water, where there is more solar radiation (Jímenez et al. 2019). This basking behaviour might be significant for two reasons: 1) it could explain why this species has been hard to locate in the area, as researchers may focus solely on crevices, rocks, and roots as reported by most of the literature (e.g., Pounds and Crump 1994); and 2) as temperature (Woodhams et al. 2003) and moisture (Johnson et al. 2003) have been suggested as two important environmental factors influencing the growth and survival of Bd, short periods of high body temperature could have helped reduce the risk of exposure to Bd infection (Woodhams et al. 2003, Jímenez et al. 2019).

This species formerly occurred in large concentrations during the dry season, from December to May (Savage 2002). Eggs are laid in water in darker crevices under and between rocks. Based on data from captive Atelopus populations, the generation length is estimated at 7 years (B. Gratwicke pers. comm. May 2018).

Range:
This species is known from both Atlantic and Pacific versants of the cordilleras of Costa Rica and western Panama, from 16-2,000 m asl. It is absent from the Pacific lowlands in its northern range (Savage 2002). In the 2008 assessment, it was documented that drastic declines had reduced the Costa Rican range to only two known localities; however, the species has since been recorded at four historical sites (Costa Rica Red List Assessment Workshop 2019) and in five additional areas, including near Rainmaker (J. Abarca pers. comm. September 2019), near Ojochal, near Savegre (C. Barrio-Amorós pers. comm. September 2019), and Alexander Skutch Biological Corridor (A. Jiménez pers. comm. September 2019). In Panama, it has been extirpated in most of its former range, persisting at only six localities in the eastern part of its range. The extent of occurrence (EOO) of the current extant range is 4,403 km2


Conservation:
Conservation Actions In-Place
Remnant subpopulations in Costa Rica occur within private reserves and Zona Protectora Las Tablas, and several remnant subpopulations in Panama occur in protected areas. This is a high priority species in the Panama Amphibian Conservation Action Plan (ANAM 2011), and a stake-holder based conservation action plan was developed under the IUCN Species Survival Commission in 2014 (Estrada et al. 2014). Preliminary monitoring is ongoing and a long-term monitoring programme is being initiated in Santa Fe, Panama (M. O'Donnell pers. comm. September 2019). A strategy is being developed to monitor the subpopulation, environmental education and promote this species as a flagship for the Corredor Biológico Alexander Skutch (A. González pers. comm. September 2019). Monitoring efforts are in place in Las Alturas de Cotón (D. Gomez pers comm. September 2019). 

The species' captive husbandry is well known and documented, and serves as a model for other captive Atelopus programs (Poole 2006). Two captive-breeding programmes have been initiated for this species in the US, one managed by the Maryland Zoo in Baltimore under the auspices of Project Golden Frog and a second established by the Cleveland Zoo in 2005 (Estrada et al. 2014). An assurance population collected from Parque Nacional Santa Fe, Panama in 2018 is being held at the Manchester Museum (M. O'Donnell pers. comm. September 2019). An in-country ex-situ programme to manage and breed Atelopus varius is also in place at the El Valle Amphibian Conservation Center and the Panama Amphibian Rescue and Conservation Project (Estrada et al. 2014). Reintroduction trials of captive bred animals began in 2018 in the Donoso region of Panama (B. Gratwicke pers. comm. May 2018).

Conservation Needed
Further habitat protection and improved management is required for this species, as are anti-poaching efforts, ongoing ex-situ breeding programmes and reintroductions (R. Ibáñez pers. comm. March 2016, B. Gratwicke pers. comm. February 2017, Costa Rica Red List Assessment Workshop 2019). There is a need to establish an ex-situ assurance population in Costa Rica (Chaves et al. 2014). Given that the remnant subpopulations of this species in Costa Rica occur only along rivers, this species would benefit from the establishment of a biological corridor (Costa Rica Red List Assessment Workshop 2019).

Research Needed
Additional surveys in the intervening areas of extant subpopulations and historical sites to determine whether there are other surviving subpopulations (Costa Rica Red List Assessment Workshop 2019), and to monitor the status of the surviving subpopulations (S. Whitfield pers. comm. September 2019). It is necessary to clarify the taxonomic status of this species (V. Acosta Chaves pers. comm. September 2019).


Questions? Comments? Suggestions? Additions?
Please contact The Virtual Zoo Staff


You are visitor count here since 21 May 2013

page design & content copyright © 2025 Andrew S. Harris

return to virtualzoo.org home

This page reprinted from http://www.virtualzoo.org. Copyright © 2025 Andrew S. Harris.

The Virtual Zoo, San Jose, CA 95125, USA