Assessment Results
Atelopus senex
Pass Stubfoot Toad
Order:
Anura
Family:
Bufonidae
Synonym(s):
Assessed for:
Costa Rica
on:
17 Apr 2020
by:
AArk/ASG Assessment Workshop
IUCN Global Red List:
Extinct (EX)
National Red List:
(not assessed)
Distribution:
Costa Rica
Evolutionary Distinctiveness score:
5.014663953
William E. Duellman © 2010 Division of Herpetology, University of Kansas (1 of 2)
Recommended Conservation Actions:
Additional Comments:
| Question # | Short Name | Question Text | Response | Comments |
| 1 | Extinction risk | Current IUCN Red List category. [Data obtained from the IUCN Red List.] | Extinct (EX) | Listed as Extinct because it has not been recorded since 1986, and extensive searches in the appropriate habitat, during the appropriate season within the known range, have failed to locate this species. |
| 2 | Possibly extinct | Is there a strong possibility that this species might be extinct in the wild? | Yes / probably | Species have been searched multiple times within its distribution range with Parque Nacional Braulio Carrillo 2001 -2019, every year (Juan Abarca and Victor Acosta, pers. comm. September 2019). Species has been also survey outside the national park Braulio Carrillo, within the Parques nacionales Tapantí ad Orosi without luck in finding it (Kimberly Castro, Cachi, Jeremy Klan, Víctor Acosta) from 1900 - 2019. |
| 3 | Phylogenetic significance | The taxon’s Evolutionary Distinctiveness (ED) score, as generated by the ZSL EDGE program. (These data are not editable by Assessors). | ED value < 20 | |
| 4 | Protected habitat | Is a population of at least 50% of the individuals of the taxon included within a well-managed or reliably protected area or areas? | No / unlikely | This species has disappeared from its entire range, but historically it occurred in humid montane forest in central Costa Rica in the Cordilleras Central and Salamanca. Species range is within Braulio Carrillo National Park and Parque Nacional Tapantí |
| 5 | Habitat for reintroduction, conservation translocation or supplementation | Does enough well-managed and reliably protected habitat exist, either within or outside of currently protected areas that is suitable for conservation translocation, including population restoration or conservation introduction? | Unknown | Braulio Carrillo National Park and Parque Nacional Tapantí |
| 6 | Previous reintroductions | Have reintroduction or translocation attempts been made in the past for this species? | No | |
| 7 | In situ conservation activities | Are any in situ conservation actions currently in place for this species? (Only required if a Red List Assessment has not been completed, or if new actions have been implemented since the last Red List Assessment. (Information from the Conservation Actions section of the Red List assessment should be reviewed and considered when answering this question.). | No / unlikely | |
| 8 | In situ conservation activities | Are additional in situ conservation actions required to help conserve this species in the wild (e.g. habitat restoration and/or protection, control of invasive species, national legislation etc.)? | No / unlikely | |
| 9 | In situ research | Is additional in situ research required to better understand the species, e.g. distribution, population trends, natural history etc.? | No | |
| 10 | Threat mitigation | Are the threats facing the taxon, including any new and emerging threats not considered in the IUCN Red List, potentially reversible? | Threats unknown | The major threat is likely to be chytridiomycosis, leading to a catastrophic population decline, as has occurred in many other montane species of Atelopus. Other threats to this species might include climate change, collecting for the pet trade, and possibly pollution. This species appears to have undergone rapid, dramatic declines across Costa Rica, including disappearances within undisturbed habitat, which has been associated with chytridiomycosis as observed in many other montane, steam-associated species across Mesoamerica. Climate change or the synergistic effects of multiple factors cannot be ruled out as playing a role in the declines (Costa Rica Red List Assessment Workshop September 2019). |
| 11 | Over-collection from the wild | Is the taxon suffering from collection within its natural range, either for food, for the pet trade or for any other reason, which threatens the species’ continued persistence in the wild? | No / unlikely | Although it was formerly collected for the international pet trade. |
| 12 | Population recovery | Is the known population of this species in the wild large enough to recover naturally, without ex situ intervention if threats are mitigated? | No / unlikely | It was formerly a common species up until 1985 (F. Bolanos pers. comm. Sept 2019), but underwent serious declines and disappeared from its historical sites between 1987 and 1988 (Savage 2002, Cossel Jr. and Kubicki 2017). Species have been searched multiple times within its distribution range with Parque Nacional Braulio Carrillo 2001 -2019, every year (Juan Abarca and Victor Acosta, pers. comm. September 2019). Species has been also survey outside the national park Braulio Carrillo, within the Parques Nacionales Tapantí ad Orosi without luck in finding it (Kimberly Castro, Cachi, Jeremy Klan, Víctor Acosta) from 1900 - 2019. It is now declared Extinct throughout its range (CR workshop 2019) |
| 13 | Action plans | Does an Action Plan for the species already exist, or is one currently being developed? | No | But there is a general National Action Plan for threatened species of Costa Rica - 2007 |
| 14 | Biological distinctiveness | Does the taxon exhibit a distinctive reproductive mode, behaviour, aspect of morphology or physiology, within the Order to which it belongs (e.g. Anura, Passeriformes etc.)? | No aspect of biology known to be exceptional | |
| 15 | Cultural/socio-economic importance | Does the taxon have a special human cultural value (e.g. as a national or regional symbol, in a historic context, featuring in traditional stories) or economic value (e.g. food, traditional medicine, tourism) within its natural range or in a wider global context? | No | |
| 16 | Scientific importance | Is the species vital to current or planned research other than species-specific ecology/biology/conservation within the Order to which it belongs (e.g. Anura, Passeriformes etc.) e.g. human medicine, climate change, environmental pollutants and conservation science? | No research dependent on this species | |
| 17 | Ex situ research | Does conserving this species (or closely related species) in situ depend upon research that can be most easily carried out ex situ? | No | |
| 18 | Ex situ conservation activities | Is any ex situ research or other ex situ conservation action currently in place for this species? (Information from the Conservation Actions section of the Red List assessment should be reviewed and considered when answering this question.) | No / unlikely | |
| 19 | Husbandry analog required | If an ex situ rescue program is recommended for this species, would an analog species be required to develop husbandry protocols first? | No / unlikely | Species is considered extinct |
| 20 | Husbandry analog | Do the biological and ecological attributes of this species make it suitable for developing husbandry regimes for more threatened related species? i.e. could this species be used in captivity to help to develop husbandry and breeding protocols which could be used for a similar, but more endangered species at a later stage? | No | |
| 21 | Captive breeding | Has this species been successfully bred and/or maintained in captivity? | Not held in captivity to date | |
| 22 | Conservation education/ecotourism potential | Is the species especially diurnal, active or colourful, or is there an interesting or unusual aspect of its ecology that make it particularly suitable to be an educational ambassador for conservation of the species in the range country, either in zoos or aquariums or within ecotourism activities? | No | |
| 23 | Mandate | Is there an existing conservation mandate recommending the ex situ conservation of this taxon? | No | |
| 24 | Range State approval | If an ex situ initiative was proposed for this species, would it be supported (and approved) by the range State (either within the range State or out-of-country ex situ)? | Yes / probably | |
| 25 | Founder specimens | Are sufficient animals of the taxon available or potentially available (from wild or captive sources) to initiate an ex situ program, if one was recommended? | No / unlikely | |
| 26 | Taxonomic status | Has a complete taxonomic analysis of the species in the wild been carried out, to fully understand the functional unit you wish to conserve (i.e. have species limits been determined)? | Yes |
Citation:
AArk/ASG Assessment Workshop. 2020. Conservation Needs Assessment for Atelopus senex, Costa Rica.
https://www.conservationneeds.org/assessment/5108
Accessed 21 May 2024
