Monthly Archive for February 2012
Catching Up With an Old Friend
Our field work in 2011 brought us back to a favorite areas of Chile…the region where the Chile Mountains False Toad lives. We are developing captive assurance colonies of this species at the National Zoo of Chile in Santiago. We have also been monitoring a population in south-central Chile for emergent infectious amphibian disease. In addition, our research group just published a paper on this species:
Fenolio, D.B., A. Charrier, M.G. Levy, M.O. Fabry, M.S. Tirado, M.L. Crump., W.W. Lamar, & P.
Calderón. 2011. A review of the Chile Mountains False Toad, Telmatobufo venustus (Amphibia:
Anura: Calyptocephalellidae) with comments on its conservation status. Herpetological Review
42(4): 514–519.
Here are some images from our field work with these amazing and critically endangered frogs…
Chile Mountains False Toads like to live near rapidly flowing mountain streams.
The tadpole of the Chile Mountains False Toad (Telmatobufo vesutus) is stream adapted. Tadpoles have a suctorial disc around their mouths, helping them hold onto the rocks in the quickly flowing rapids where they live and helping them to scrape food from the substrate.
A close up of the specialized mouth of the tadpole of the Chile Mountains False Toad.
A Chile Mountains False Toad (Telmatobufo vensutus) in-situ.
Chile Mountains False Toads are among the most colorful of Chile’s amphibians.
An adult female Chile Mountains False Toad (Telmatobufo vensutus).