Assessment Results
Mantella cowanii
Cowan's Golden Frog, Cowan's Mantella, Black Golden Frog
Order:
Anura
Family:
Mantellidae
Synonym(s):
Assessed for:
Madagascar
on:
24 Jul 2015
by:
Angelica Crottini
IUCN Global Red List:
Endangered (EN)
National Red List:
(not assessed)
Distribution:
Madagascar
Evolutionary Distinctiveness score:
13.0809991
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.] | Endangered (EN) | The species was listed as CR in the 2008 assesment. It has been moved to the Endangered category because collection for the pet trade has been stopped and the remaing populations have received formal protection. However, recent surveys report that individuals are still encountered in appropriate habitat but at low abundances compared to pre-1996 survey effort. The distribution of the species is fairly well characerized. Research is needed to better understand its life history , population trends and current threats. |
| 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 | It is known from the Fohisokina protected area, which has received temporary protected status since 2010 through transfer of management to the community-based FOMISAME. Continued enforcement of the protected area will be important for maintaining the limited available habitat for this species. A moratorium on the export of Mantella cowani was implemented in 2003 (through the application of a zero export quota on any CITES Appendix II species until subpopulations recover). |
| 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? | No / unlikely | It is a terrestrial species, surviving along forest edges, tiny strips of vegetation along streams, in nearby montane grassland savannah and along humid stone walls. It lives in underground cavities during the dry season and it can hide in these during fires. It is a species of the high plateau and only limited fragmented patches of suitable habtat persist. The few existing wild populations are confined to small moors near streams. The surrounding area is deforested, and consists of grassland, leftover from repeated slash and burn agriculture. In this degraded habitat, the frogs often only come out of hiding during the very early morning and retreat back under wet rocks as the day becomes hot. |
| 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.). | ||
| 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 | Improved management of Fohisokana, protection of unprotected populations in Itremo and near Tsinjoarivo, continued trade regulations |
| 9 | In situ research | Is additional in situ research required to better understand the species, e.g. distribution, population trends, natural history etc.? | Yes | Population size, distribution and trends; impact of trade |
| 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 are being managed - conservation dependant | This taxon received protection with the transfer of management of the Fohisokina area to the community-based FOMISAME |
| 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? | Yes / probably | Collection for the pet trade is banned since 2003. This species was over collected in the past, resulting in a strong population reduction. |
| 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 | The species occurs in a region that has largely been deforested and the remaining habitat is being lost due to subsistence agriculture, timber extraction and charcoal production, fires, draining of wetlands and expanding human settlements. Additionally, the Farimazava subpopulation next to Antoetra has hybridized with Mantella baroni and might no longer be distinct. |
| 13 | Action plans | Does an Action Plan for the species already exist, or is one currently being developed? | Yes - currently being developed | Rabibisoa completed the first conservation action plan fort he species in 2008. In December, 2018 a conservation workshop was held for the species in Ambositra and a new updated plan may be developed based on this workshop. |
| 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? | Yes | The species was present in the pet trade (from which it is banned since 2003). After the engagement of the community-based FOMISAME to protect its habitat, now is also the symbol of this area. |
| 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 | Habitat restoration will sensibly imporve the conservation of this species. |
| 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 | |
| 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 | Other species of Mantella are preferable as husbandry analog. The captive care of M. cowani is similar to other mantellas, but because they are native to higher altitudes than others, it has been suggested they require very cool temperatures. |
| 21 | Captive breeding | Has this species been successfully bred and/or maintained in captivity? | Yes, bred to F1 | Only few individuals have remained in captivity. M. cowani has proven difficult to breed, and captive-bred frogs are not available. Private breeders have bred the species on at least two occasions, but not easily or in large numbers. |
| 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 | It is an iconic species, but it also have an extremely secretive life style. Possessors of this species in captivity report that the animals come out from hide only when food was available. Although this is certainly an iconic species form Madagascar other Mantella species should be preferred as educational ambassador for conservation. |
| 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? | Unknown | Research into availability of founders needs to be prioritised. Most probably there are still not sufficient animals in the wild to establish specified ex situ programs, also beacause to date (although widely distributed in the pet trade in the past) no record of sucsesfull breeding has ever been reported in captive animals. |
| 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 | The population from Farimazava (near Antoetra) has hybridized with M. baroni and this genetic pool of M. cowanii no longer exists. |
Citation:
Angelica Crottini. 2015. Conservation Needs Assessment for Mantella cowanii, Madagascar.
https://conservationneeds.org/assessment/1575
Accessed 01 Feb 2025
