''Telmatobufo venustus'' is a species of

frog A frog is any member of a diverse and largely Carnivore, carnivorous group of short-bodied, tailless amphibians composing the order (biology), order Anura (ανοὐρά, literally ''without tail'' in Ancient Greek). The oldest fossil "proto-f ...

in the family

Calyptocephalellidae The Calyptocephalellidae are a family of toads (although not true members of the Bufonidae) found in Chile containing two living genera, ''Calyptocephalella'' and ''Telmatobufo.'' The genus ''Calyptocephalella'' contains one living species, the ...

. It is

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found elsew ...

Chile Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in the western part of South America. It is the southernmost country in the world, and the closest to Antarctica, occupying a long and narrow strip of land between the Andes to the east a ...

and occurs on the western slopes of the

Andes The Andes, Andes Mountains or Andean Mountains (; ) are the longest continental mountain range in the world, forming a continuous highland along the western edge of South America. The range is long, wide (widest between 18°S – 20°S ...

in Maule and Bío Bío Regions. Its natural

habitat In ecology, the term habitat summarises the array of resources, physical and biotic factors that are present in an area, such as to support the survival and reproduction of a particular species. A species habitat can be seen as the physical ...

s are streams in temperate ''

Nothofagus ''Nothofagus'', also known as the southern beeches, is a genus of 43 species of trees and shrubs native to the Southern Hemisphere in southern South America (Chile, Argentina) and Australasia (east and southeast Australia, New Zealand, New Gui ...

'' forests where it is found under rocks along the streams. The only stable population is in the Altos de Lircay National Reserve in Maule. The only other localities, both in the Bío Bío Region, are its type locality in Chillan, where it was not found in 2014, and Ralco where it was last observed in 1981. It is threatened by

habitat loss Habitat destruction (also termed habitat loss and habitat reduction) is the process by which a natural habitat becomes incapable of supporting its native species. The organisms that previously inhabited the site are displaced or dead, thereby ...

caused by fires, conversion of native habitat to pine and eucalyptus plantations, and in Ralco, hydropower dams. Trout in Altos de Lircay are also a threat.

References

venustus Amphibians of Chile Endemic fauna of Chile Taxa named by Rodolfo Amando Philippi Amphibians described in 1899 Taxonomy articles created by Polbot {{Neobatrachia-stub