Assessment Results
Crossodactylus lutzorum
Order:
Anura
Family:
Hylodidae
Synonym(s):
Assessed for:
Brazil
on:
18 Aug 2020
by:
AArk/ASG Brazil Assessment Workshop
Authors:
M. Napoli and V.G. Dill-Orrico
IUCN Global Red List:
Data Deficient (DD)
National Red List:
Critically Endangered (CR)
Distribution:
Brazil
Evolutionary Distinctiveness score:
21.61290163
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.] | Critically Endangered (CR) | |
| 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 - 50 | |
| 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? | Unknown | Its type-locality (Fazenda Água Branca in the municipality of Valença, state of Bahia) is a private and well-protected area. However, the species has not been seen in the area since 1993. Preliminary and unpublished data would expand the distribution of the species, but even so the population would not have at least 50% of individuals in protected areas. |
| 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 | Fazenda Água Branca. The area has not changed since the species description (Victor Dill, pers. comm. 2020). |
| 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.). | No / unlikely | There is the private protected area but no specific work is being done for the species. |
| 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 | Avoid switching from cacao to other monocultures. Reintroducing the species in the area of ??the type-locality, in case of confirmation of local extinction. |
| 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 natural history, population size, trends and monitoring, and review of specimens deposited in museums. It is also necessary to perform searches for new areas of occurrence and in the type-locality. |
| 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 likely to be reversible in time frame to prevent further decline / extinction | The main threat to this species is the habitat loss due to the development of agriculture, logging and human settlements. |
| 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? | Unknown | |
| 13 | Action plans | Does an Action Plan for the species already exist, or is one currently being developed? | No | There is no specific plan to this species, but it is part of the National Action Plan "Plano de Ação Nacional para Conservação da Herpetofauna Ameaçada da Mata Atlântica Nordestina - PAN Nordeste". |
| 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.) | 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? | Yes / probably | Crossodactylus gaudichaudii. Protocols that already exist for the Hindu-Malayo Staurois genus are recommended for testing on C. gaudichaudii. |
| 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? | Maintained but no successful breeding | A maximum of 10 adults were kept for 15 days in the laboratory of Universidade Estadual de Santa Cruz (UESC, Ilhéus-BA), but they were euthanized (Victor Dill, 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 is diurnal and with potential for frogwatching (ecotourism). 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? | Unknown | Research into availability of founders needs to be prioritised. In the type-locality it probably doesn't have enough animals, but since the species may exist in other areas, the founders may come from them. |
| 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. Preliminary data indicate that other populations would belong to this taxon (Victor Dill, pers. comm. 2020). |
Citation:
M. Napoli and V.G. Dill-Orrico 2020. Conservation Needs Assessment for Crossodactylus lutzorum, Brazil
(AArk/ASG Brazil Assessment Workshop).
https://conservationneeds.org/assessment/6769
Accessed 28 Jan 2025
