Puerto Rican crested toad
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Amphibia
Order: Anura
Family: Bufonidae
Genus: Peltophryne
Species:
P. lemur
Binomial name
Peltophryne lemur
Cope, 1869
Synonyms
  • Bufo lemur (Cope, 1869)

The Puerto Rican crested toad (Peltophryne lemur), or simply Puerto Rican toad, is a species of toad found only in Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands.[2] It is the only species of toad native to Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands. The species formerly occurred in Virgin Gorda and along the southern and northern karst in Puerto Rico.[3] It is listed as a threatened by the US Fish and Wildlife Service due to habitat loss and introduced species. At one period of time it was believed to be extinct until it was rediscovered in 1966. The IUCN has the species listed as endangered.[1]

Conservation

A pair in amplexus

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the Department of Natural and Environmental Resources, and the American Association of Zoos and Aquariums have worked together to create a captive breeding program run by the American Association of Zoos and Aquariums. In 2013, the group released 71,000 tadpoles and 520 toadlets across three locations. The group has released 260,000 tadpoles over the last twenty years.[4]

Two children look at the Sapo Concho (as it is called in Puerto Rico) at a table set up by the US Fish and Wildlife Service, in 2012.

In 2019, another 8,000 tadpoles were sent to Puerto Rico from the Detroit Zoological Society.[5]

In November 2019 the first Puerto Rican crested toad was born as a result of in vitro.[6][7]

See also

References

  1. ^ a b IUCN SSC Amphibian Specialist Group (2021). "Peltophryne lemur". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2021: e.T54345A172692429. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2021-1.RLTS.T54345A172692429.en. Retrieved 20 November 2021.
  2. ^ Frost, Darrel R. (2014). "Peltophryne lemur Cope, 1869". Amphibian Species of the World: an Online Reference. Version 6.0. American Museum of Natural History. Retrieved 19 March 2015.
  3. ^ Bob Johnson. "Recovery of the Puerto Rican Crested Toad" (PDF). Endangered Species Bulletin. fws.gov. Retrieved November 27, 2006.
  4. ^ Carlos Pacheco (17 January 2013). "The Puerto Rican Crested Toad". Retrieved 19 March 2015.
  5. ^ "Detroit Zoological Society Releases Close To 8,000 Puerto Rican Crested Toad Tadpoles". Reptiles Magazine. 2019-06-06. Retrieved 2020-12-31.
  6. ^ "Primer sapo concho puertorriqueño nacido a través de fertilización in vitro". WIPR (in Spanish). November 22, 2019.
  7. ^ "Sapo concho puertorriqueño". DRNA (in Spanish). November 18, 2015.

Data related to Peltophryne lemur at Wikispecies Media related to Peltophryne lemur at Wikimedia Commons


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