Assessment Results
Triprion spinosus
Crowned Hyla, Spine-headed Tree Frog, Coronated Treefrog
Rana De Corona
Order:
Anura
Family:
Hylidae
Synonym(s):
Anotheca spinosa
Assessed for:
Costa Rica
on:
19 Mar 2020
by:
AArk/ASG Assessment Workshop
IUCN Global Red List:
Near Threatened (NT)
National Red List:
(not assessed)
Distribution:
Costa Rica, Honduras, Mexico, Panama
Evolutionary Distinctiveness score:
15.93938639
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.] | Near Threatened (NT) | This species has a patchy distribution and is of conservation concern across all range countries due to rarity and anecdotal evidence of population declines due to ongoing habitat conversion and degradation, and possibly due to the impact of the chytrid fungus Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis (Bd). It is subject to ongoing ex-situ and in-situ conservation programs in Costa Rica and Panama, and is listed as a species of high concern in Honduras (Wilson et al. 2003) and of high priority Panama (ANAM 2011), and is dependent on the habitat protection provided by the protected areas in which it occurs. An expert assessment (Gratwicke et al. 2016) listed the species as being at medium to high risk of extinction (47-87%). As a result of these ongoing threats, the population is suspected to be decreasing at an unknown rate, and is dependent on both general habitat protection and targeted conservation action. The species is therefore listed as Near Threatened. |
| 2 | Possibly extinct | Is there a strong possibility that this species might be extinct in the wild? | No / unlikely | |
| 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? | Yes / probably | This species is found in eastern Mexico, eastern Honduras, central Costa Rica and central Panama Reserva Biológica Alberto Manuel Brenes, Parque Internacional La Amistad, Braulio Carrillo National Park, Guayacán Reserve |
| 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? | Yes / probably | Braulio Carrillo National Park, Guayacán Reserve, Reserva Biológica Alberto Manuel Brenes, Parque Internacional La Amistad, |
| 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.). | Yes / probably | The Costa Rican Amphibian Research Center has an in-situ effort to supplement natural breeding sites with artificial ones. |
| 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.)? | Yes / probably | Habitat management including habitat protection, improved management of protected areas and legislation is required, in addition to the development of a range-wide species conservation plan. |
| 9 | In situ research | Is additional in situ research required to better understand the species, e.g. distribution, population trends, natural history etc.? | Yes | The research priorities for the next five years include the following goals: 1) document and calculate historic vs. current area of occupancy, 2) evaluate Bd-susceptibility of the species, 3) clarify the taxonomic questions detailed in Faivovich et al. (2018) suggesting that this is in fact a species complex and eastern subpopulations (Costa Rica and Panama) may represent new species (see taxonomic note), 4) acoustic monitoring is required to improve the understanding of the distribution of this canopy-dwelling species. |
| 10 | Threat mitigation | Are the threats facing the taxon, including any new and emerging threats not considered in the IUCN Red List, potentially reversible? | Species is effectively protected | 80% of its distribution within protected areas |
| 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 | |
| 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? | Yes / probably | In Costa Rica, this species may have experienced declines and was formerly considered to be rare in the previous species' assessment; Pounds et al. (1997) noted that it disappeared from places around Monteverde. It is now frequently encountered and has been recorded in historical and new localities in recent years (Costa Rica Red List Assessment Workshop September 2019). It is common at Buenos Aires de Guapiles, Rainforest Adventures at the edge of Parque Nacional Braulio Carrillo (S. Salazar pers. comm. September 2019) and Turrialba area (C. Barrio-Amorós pers. comm. September 2019). Kubicki (2008) notes that it persists in Guayacán, where it can be regularly heard calling in the appropriate habitat. In San Vito, it was frequently encountered in the 1990s, but recent efforts to find the species there have not been successful (C. Barrio-Amorós pers. comm. September 2019). |
| 13 | Action plans | Does an Action Plan for the species already exist, or is one currently being developed? | No | |
| 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.) | Yes / probably | An ex-situ population of this species is breeding at the Panama Amphibian Rescue and Conservation Project (Gratwicke et al. 2016) |
| 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 | |
| 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? | Yes, bred to F1 | An ex-situ population of this species is breeding at the Panama Amphibian Rescue and Conservation Project (Gratwicke et al. 2016), and some individuals are maintained and bred at US zoos and aquariums but they are not managed as part of a species survival plan. |
| 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? | Yes / probably | |
| 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)? | No | Research into species validity needs to be prioritised. |
Citation:
AArk/ASG Assessment Workshop. 2020. Conservation Needs Assessment for Triprion spinosus, Costa Rica.
https://www.conservationneeds.org/assessment/5280
Accessed 13 May 2024
