Assessment Results
Atelopus hoogmoedi
Hoogmoed Harlequin Toad, Nassau Harlequin Toad
Order:
Anura
Family:
Bufonidae
Synonym(s):
Atelopus hoogmoedi nassaui, Atelopus spumarius, Atelopus pulcher hoogmoedi, Atelopus spumarius hoogmoedi
Assessed for:
French Guiana
on:
16 Feb 2023
by:
AArk/ASI Atelopus Assessment Workshop
Authors:
Plewnia, A., Lorioux-Chevalier, U., Le Pape, T., Fouquet, A., & Lötters, S.
IUCN Global Red List:
Not Evaluated (NE)
National Red List:
Least Concern (LC)
Distribution:
Brazil, French Guiana, Guyana, Suriname
Evolutionary Distinctiveness score:
7.90768859
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.] | Least Concern (LC) | Atelopus hoogmoedi was evaluated by the IUCN in 2022 and will be listed as Least Concern when the report is published in 2023. It is also considered Least Concern by the National Red List French Guiana assessment. |
| 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 | Almost the entire range of the French Guiana population is within Guiana Amazonian National Park/Parc Amazonien de Guyane. |
| 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 | Since most individuals of this species are found within Guiana Amazonian National Park/Parc Amazonien de Guyane, that national park would serve well as an area for reintroduction, should that need exist in the future. |
| 6 | Previous reintroductions | Have reintroduction or translocation attempts been made in the past for this species? | No | Reintroduction or translocation attempts for this species have not been made in French Guiana. |
| 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 | |
| 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.)? | No / unlikely | |
| 9 | In situ research | Is additional in situ research required to better understand the species, e.g. distribution, population trends, natural history etc.? | Yes | Not much is known about this species. Monitoring is difficult, especially due to the remoteness of Guiana Amazonian National Park/Parc Amazonien de Guyane, where most (if not all) of the population in French Guiana resides. Field surveys are needed to understand distribution, population trends/status, phenology, and ecotypes. More Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis (Bd) sampling is needed, as the effect of chytridiomycosis on population decline for this species remains unknown. Research into the impact(s) of climate change need to be assessed as well (anecdotal reports have recorded individuals moving to higher elevations during warmer periods). |
| 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 | Some illegal gold mining activity occurs both within and adjacent to protected areas. Gold mines, both legal and illegal, threaten the species via deforestation (habitat loss) and water pollution. There may also be trafficking/overcollection of this species for pet trade, although this is less likely in French Guiana because of the remoteness of its range (which is almost completely within Guiana Amazonian National Park/Parc Amazonien de Guyane). Bd and climate change are potential threats for this species. The impact of Bd has recently been assessed in Atelopus manauensis (from a Guiana clade) and might be similar; the study found that mortality was Bd-strain dependent and that Bd prevalence was high in amphibian communities throughout the Brazilian part of the Guiana Shield (Lambertini et al. 2022). Ultimately, more research needs to be conducted to better understand the scope of threats for this species (especially for chytridiomycosis and climate change). |
| 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 | Many imports of this species into Europe occurred years ago, but from Suriname. This species has not been poached (to our knowledge) in French Guiana because the populations are too remote (the national park where they primarily occur, Guiana Amazonian National Park/Parc Amazonien de Guyane, is difficult to access; this species is much easier to find in Suriname). |
| 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 | |
| 13 | Action plans | Does an Action Plan for the species already exist, or is one currently being developed? | No | A global action plan exists for the genus Atelopus, but not specifically for this species. |
| 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? | Yes | There are many potential ex situ studies that would help us better understand this and other Atelopus species in the wild, such as investigations regarding reproductive mode, resistance/susceptibility to chytridiomycosis and/or climate change (via physiology and responses to temperature changes). Studies on the hybridization of A. flavescens & A. hoogmoedi (and the resulting color morphs) could be useful, as this is not well understood in the wild. |
| 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 | |
| 21 | Captive breeding | Has this species been successfully bred and/or maintained in captivity? | Yes, bred to F1 | In the past, non-range locations (such as the Düsseldorf Löbbeke-Museum & Aquazoo in Germany and the Atlanta Botanical Garden in the United States) received specimens from Suriname, but they are not kept anymore. This species is currently being bred (from populations in Pará, Brazil) at the São Paulo Zoo (Reserva Paulista) to serve as an analog species for Atelopus manauensis. |
| 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 colorful, diurnal, and often large, which makes it a good candidate for educational programming; however, populations from French Guiana are likely too remote for local people and/or tourists to see in person (with the exception of one village located near the national park where this species primarily occurs). |
| 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 | Since this is a species of Least Concern at both the global and national levels, a permit would not be hard to obtain. |
| 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 | Because this species is Least Concern, we assume that there would be enough individuals for founders if the need arose. As with other Atelopus species, males are often found by streams, but females are often very difficult to find (females are assumed to be scattered throughout the forest, not congregated like the males). |
| 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. Possible species complex. Research into species validity needs to be prioritized, although there are fewer ambiguities for the French Guiana population because 1) the type locality for this species is in French Guiana, and 2) this species is primarily found in Parc Amazonien de Guyane--although multiple populations occur within the national park. Variation exists within the population; cryptic diversity is possible. From taxonomic section of the 2022 IUCN assessment (to be published in 2023): "This is a split from the broader concept of Atelopus spumarius (Lötters et al. 2005). Silva et al. (2020) provided molecular evidence that this is a species complex with populations south of the Amazon River being a distinct, but unnamed species." Noonan and Gaucher (2005), Lötters et al. (2011) and Jorge et al. (2020) obtained phylogenetic relationships based on mitochondrial DNA that provided ambiguous boundaries between 2 main mtDNA lineages: Atelopus hoogmoedi on the one hand, and A. flavescens, A. franciscus and A. barbotini on the other hand. These last three may best be referable to a single polymorphic taxon according to Lötters et al (2011). The ambiguous boundaries notably concern the populations in central French Guiana where the two main mtDNA lineages seem to be in contact and where intermediary phenotypes exist (Noonan and Gaucher, 2005) suggesting admixture. |
Citation:
Plewnia, A., Lorioux-Chevalier, U., Le Pape, T., Fouquet, A., & Lötters, S. 2023. Conservation Needs Assessment for Atelopus hoogmoedi, French Guiana
(AArk/ASI Atelopus Assessment Workshop).
https://conservationneeds.org/assessment/6986
Accessed 02 May 2025
