Tag Archives: Venezuela

“Prostherapis” dunni Rivero

Dunn’s Rocket Frog (“Prostherapis” dunni)

Dunn’s Rocket Frog was described in 1961; it is known from two localities on the southern slopes of Cerro El Ávila in the central part of the Cordillera de la Costa of Venezuela.

The species has not been recorded since 1977 and is feared to be extinct.

***

The genus name is written in quotation marks because the assignment of this species to this genus is questioned.

*********************

edited: 24.08.2022

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]  

***

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).  

*********************  

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  

*********************    

Common Vampire Bat (Desmodus rotundus Geoffroy)  

Photo: Uwe Schmidt 

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

*********************  

edited: 23.03.2018

Atelopus sorianoi La Marca

Scarlet Stub-foot Toad (Atelopus sorianoi)

The Scarlet Stub-foot Toad was described in 1983, it was restricted to the vicinity of a single stream in an isolated cloud forest named Paramito de San Francisco near the town of Guaraque, in Mérida State, Cordillera de Mérida, Venezuela.

Both sexes were very distinctly bright orange colored.

The Scarlet Stud-foot Toad is now most certainly extinct, it disappeared due to habitat loss, yet another reason for its disappearance were severe dry seasons which coincided with epidemic events caused by the deadly fungal chytridiomycosis disease.

*********************

edited: 10.09.2019

Atelopus pinangoi Rivero

Pinango Stub-foot Toad (Atelopus pinangoi)

The Pinango Stub-foot Toad also known as Green And Red Venter Harlequin Toad was described in 1982, it is, or was restricted to the forest around the village of Piñango in the Estado Mérida in eastern Venezuela, where it formerly was said by the locals to have been very abundant.

The species was distinctly yellowish colored.

The Pinango Stub-foot Toad suffered from habitat destruction that left the forests it inhabited highly fragmented, and from the introduction of exotic trouts into the local rivers, which again very probably fed on the tadpoles.

The species appears now to be extinct.

*********************

References:

[1] Enrique La Marca: Venezuelan Harlequin Frogs: In the face of extinction? Reptilian Magazine 3(8):22-24. 1995

*********************

edited: 10.09.2019