''Atelopus famelicus'' is a species of toad in the family Bufonidae endemic to

Colombia Colombia (, ; ), officially the Republic of Colombia, is a country in South America with insular regions in North America—near Nicaragua's Caribbean coast—as well as in the Pacific Ocean. The Colombian mainland is bordered by the Car ...

. It is known from the Cordillera Occidental in Cauca and Valle del Cauca departments (the population in the latter has since been extirpated).

Description

Males grow to while the females measure in

snout–vent length Snout–vent length (SVL) is a morphometric measurement taken in herpetology from the tip of the snout to the most posterior opening of the cloacal slit (vent)."direct line distance from tip of snout to posterior margin of vent" It is the most c ...

. Tympanum is absent. The fingers have rudimentary webbing while the toes are partially webbed. Coloration is generally reddish brown with yellowish tones towards the flanks. The belly is dirty yellowish with numerous fine brown or black spots. A yellow lateral line may be present.

Habitat and conservation

''Atelopus famelicus'' is a terrestrial frog found in montane forest at elevations of

above sea level Height above mean sea level is a measure of the vertical distance (height, elevation or altitude) of a location in reference to a historic mean sea level taken as a vertical datum. In geodesy, it is formalized as ''orthometric heights''. The comb ...

. It probably has stream-dwelling tadpoles. This species has only been recorded at two localities in Cauca and one in Valle del Cauca. The Cauca populations are threatened by habitat loss. Also chytridiomycosis could be a threat. The latest record of the species is from 2005 from the Valle de Cauca locality. However, the population there is now considered extinct because of drying of the habitat after road building. An exhaustive search in one the Cauca localities in 2000 did not record any specimens. The two Cauca localities are on the border of the Munchique National Natural Park. One of them was inside a private reserve that was in 2004 taken over by a guerilla group and no longer provides protection to the species.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q2236414 famelicus Amphibians of the Andes Amphibians of Colombia Endemic fauna of Colombia Taxa named by Juan A. Rivero Amphibians described in 1995 Taxonomy articles created by Polbot