Tag Archives: Bolivia

Desmodus draculae Morgan et al.

Giant Vampire Bat (Desmodus draculae)  

The Giant Vampire Bat was described in 1988 based on bones that were recovered from deposits of a cave in the state of Monagas, northern Venezuela. Further remains were found in Argentina, Belize, Bolivia, Brazil, Ecuador, and Mexico.  

The exact age of these bones cannot be determined, they may be of late Pleistocene or early Holocene age, some scientists even think that this species may still exist. [1]  

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The Giant Vampire Bat wasn’t a real giant, in fact it was only 30% larger than its next living relative, the Common Vampire Bat (Desmodus rotundus Geoffroy) (see photo).  

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References:  

[1] G. S. Morgan; O. J. Linares; C. E. Ray: New species of fossil vampire bats (Mammalia, Chiroptera, Desmodontidae) from Florida and Venezuela”. Proceedings of the Biological Society of Washington. 101(4): 912–928. 1988  

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Common Vampire Bat (Desmodus rotundus Geoffroy)  

Photo: Uwe Schmidt 

(under creative commons license (4.0)) 
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0

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edited: 23.03.2018

Hylascirtus chlorostea (Reynolds & Foster)

Paracti Tree Frog (Hylascirtus chlorostea)

This species was described in 1992 on the basis of a single male specimen that was collected in 1979 at a place named Paracti in the Cochabamba Department of the Chapare Province, Bolivia.

The scientific species epithet refers to the green-colored bones of this frog species, possibly a result of the impregnation of the tissues with biliverdin and found in other frog species too.

The type locality was surveyed for several times since 1988, yet no additional individual could be detected, thus the Paracti Tree Frog is believed to be possibly extinct. [1]

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References:

[1] Julián Faivovich; Ignacio De la Riva: On “Hyla” chlorostea Reynolds and Foster, 1992, a Hylid of uncertain relationships, with some comments on Hyloscirtus (Anura: Hylidae). Copeia 785-791. 2006

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edited: 16.01.2019

Telmatobius edaphonastes De la Riva

Brown Mountain Frog (Telmatobius edaphonastes)

This species was described in 1994; it is known only from the Andean slopes of the Cordillera Oriental in Bolivia, where it was found at elevations of 2500 to 2600 m above sea level, inhabiting both cloud forests and mountain streams.

The frogs are uniformly dark brown colored.

This species, like so many other Andean amphibians, is highly threatened by the spread of chytridiomycosis as well as by habitat loss due to uncontrolled logging; it was last seen in 1999 despite annual targeted surveys, it may well be extinct.

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edited: 11.08.2022