Assessment Results
Physalaemus soaresi
Order:
Anura
Family:
Leptodactylidae
Synonym(s):
Assessed for:
Brazil
on:
21 Aug 2020
by:
AArk/ASG Brazil Assessment Workshop
Authors:
A.M.P. T. Carvalho-e-Silva and S.P. Carvalho-e-Silva
IUCN Global Red List:
Endangered (EN)
National Red List:
Critically Endangered (CR)
Distribution:
Brazil
Evolutionary Distinctiveness score:
16.65770532
Recommended Conservation Actions:
Additional Comments:
A captive breeding program for Physalaemus soaresi is recommended by the authors to safeguard the species. An endangered fish (Cynolebias minimus) also occurs in the same area where P. soaresi occurs.
| Question # | Short Name | Question Text | Response | Comments |
| 1 | Extinction risk | Current IUCN Red List category. [Data obtained from the IUCN Red List.] | Endangered (EN) | |
| 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? | No / unlikely | This species occurs in the Floresta Nacional (FLONA) Mário Xavier (500 ha), a non reliably protected area which is cut by two highways. This FLONA was a seedling replanting area in the 1950s, and has already been discussed about ending it. |
| 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 | No other areas are known in which the species has a historical record for possible reintroduction. It is possible that it occurred in Reserva do Medanha (specimens under analysis in Célio Haddad's laboratory), which is a municipal protected area, but which can be undone by the city at any time. In Luis Weber's thesis, two specimens are cited for Barro Branco (municipality of Duque de Caxias), but the source data needs to be confirmed with further studies. In Duque de Caxias there is the Parque Municipal da Taquara, a protected area, but the species was not found there. |
| 6 | Previous reintroductions | Have reintroduction or translocation attempts been made in the past for this species? | No | There was a discussion in the past for introduction in the REBIO do Tinguá, municipality of Tinguá. The government wants to transform it into an effective protected area (National Park). A specimen appeared in the Parque Municipal da Serra do Mendanha, however the presence of the species in the region is not confirmed. Research by Jorge Pontes during 10 years with pitfall traps never found this species in the region, so this unique record can be considered accidental. |
| 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 | Currently, any in situ conservation actions are in place. In the past, environmental researchers have managed to interrupt and modify the construction of the Metropolitan Arch. There was a group from Paraná that was monitoring the population, but without a herpetologist. They said that the species was well distributed in the region, but the individuals were confused with Stereocyclops parkeri. Anyway, this monitoring is no longer being done. Some environmental education activities took place in the past and continue punctualy. |
| 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 | Promote the creation of an effective protected area; improve surveillance to prevent invasions by the surrounding community; prevent individuals housed in the Animal Screening Center (CETAS), located within the FLONA, from escaping and being introduced into the area or even take the CETAS out of the FLONA. |
| 9 | In situ research | Is additional in situ research required to better understand the species, e.g. distribution, population trends, natural history etc.? | Yes | Research is needed on search of other populations (inventories) in new and old areas to confirm records; demographic studies, population trends and monitoring; evaluation of the acoustic impact of the metropolitan arch on the population, which was a condition for its licensing. |
| 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 unlikely to be reversed in time to prevent further decline / extinction | As of 2009, the species began to face a threat due to the construction of the Metropolitan Highway Arch of Rio de Janeiro, which would pass exactly where it occurs. After agreement between environmentalists and the government, the initial project was modified and the Arch was built suspended, passing above the habitat of P. soaresi. Although it did not extinguish the environment, the work caused severe environmental changes and also generated new threats promoted by the impact of vehicle traffic. Other threats to the species are urban expansion of the municipality of Seropédica, irregular human occupation and fires. |
| 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 | There were disturbed areas within the FLONA and the species disappeared, when the disturbance stopped, the species returned to occupy the area (S.P. Carvalho-e-Silva, pers. comm. 2020). |
| 13 | Action plans | Does an Action Plan for the species already exist, or is one currently being developed? | No | There is no specific plan for this species, but it is part of the National Action Plan "Plano de Ação Nacional para a Conservação da Herpetofauna Ameaçada da Mata Atlântica da Região Sudeste do Brasil" (PAN Herpetofauna do Sudeste). |
| 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 | This species has wide national and international dissemination due to the fight of environmentalists with the government to prevent the construction of the Arch, then this species is known by the Brazilians as Norminha (character of a soap opera). |
| 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 | Research on the effect of noise and geological pollution on the 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 | A captive breeding program for Physalaemus soaresi is recommended to safeguard the species. |
| 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? | Yes / probably | Two potential analog species: Physalaemus signifer and P. lateristriga. Physalaemus signifer is a species of lowland and occurs in the same environment as P. soaresi, but belongs to another group. Physalaemus lateristriga is from the same group and both can reproduce in the same type of environment, but it does not occur in the same region as P. soaresi. |
| 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 | Tadpoles were maintained until metamorphosis in laboratory at the Federal Rural University and at the Federal University of RJ for the thesis of L. Weber (S.P. Carvalho-e-Silva, pers. comm. 2020). |
| 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? | Yes | This species has potential for conservation education and ecotourism, since tourists look for "Norminha" in the FLONA. It is also part of the DOTs Project, which aims to promote scientific communication and highlight conservation needs of the Brazilian threatened amphibians (https://www.projetodots.org). |
| 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)? | Yes |
Citation:
A.M.P. T. Carvalho-e-Silva and S.P. Carvalho-e-Silva 2020. Conservation Needs Assessment for Physalaemus soaresi, Brazil
(AArk/ASG Brazil Assessment Workshop).
https://conservationneeds.org/assessment/1994
Accessed 23 Apr 2025
