A lab contribution published this week by the open-access biodiversity journal Zookeys names a new species of Telmatobius from the Andes. The new species has been named Telmatobius ventriflavum because of its unique coloration. The name comes from the Latin venter, meaning belly, and flavus, meaning yellow and refers to the golden yellow and orange coloration on the body.
The Telmatobiinae, Andean water frogs, are a subfamily of frogs endemic to the Andes of South America. The populations of several species of Telmatobius have declined dramatically over the past 30 years, and the genus is now thought to be extinct in Ecuador. These declines have been associated with the spread of the fungal disease chytridiomycosis. The study detected the presence of the chytrid fungus, but the impact of chytridiomycosis on the new species is unknown. Future efforts should monitor disease prevalence to prevent outbreaks that might endanger the survival of this endemic species.
The article is available here: 10.3897/zookeys.480.8578
Catenazzi A, Vargas García V, Lehr E (2015) A new species of Telmatobius (Amphibia, Anura, Telmatobiidae) from the Pacific slopes of the Andes, Peru. ZooKeys 480: 81-95.
The Telmatobiinae, Andean water frogs, are a subfamily of frogs endemic to the Andes of South America. The populations of several species of Telmatobius have declined dramatically over the past 30 years, and the genus is now thought to be extinct in Ecuador. These declines have been associated with the spread of the fungal disease chytridiomycosis. The study detected the presence of the chytrid fungus, but the impact of chytridiomycosis on the new species is unknown. Future efforts should monitor disease prevalence to prevent outbreaks that might endanger the survival of this endemic species.
The article is available here: 10.3897/zookeys.480.8578
Catenazzi A, Vargas García V, Lehr E (2015) A new species of Telmatobius (Amphibia, Anura, Telmatobiidae) from the Pacific slopes of the Andes, Peru. ZooKeys 480: 81-95.
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