Description
Telmatobius colanensis belongs to a clade where there are no proposed synapomorphies supporting the monophyly of Telmatobius, Telmatobiini, Telmatobinae, or Leptodactylidae, though the presumptive synapomorphies for the group are (1) frontoparietals fused posteriorly, and (2) nuptial excresence on Finger 1 only (which are not universal across all Telmatobius). T. colanensis can be differentiated from its congeners by the following combination of characters: (1) premaxillary teeth present, (2) tympanum absent, (3) nuptial spines moderately large, distinct conical, restricted to dorsal and lateral surface of thumb and separate from inner palmar tubercle, (4) dorsum, in preservative, is gray, (5) ventral coloration is tan, (6) dorsal skin is smooth, (7) snout-vent length of this large Telmatobius is 62.5 mm, (8) toes more extensively webbed, with interdigital webbing extending to level of ultimate phalange of the fifth toe, (9) inner metatarsal tubercle is nearly spherical. Head is slightly narrower than body and is wider than long. Nostril is not protuberant and is located just posterior to the anterior terminus of the snout. Head width is 40.2 % SVL. Snout is short and bluntly rounded. Relative finger lengths are: III>I>IV>II. Relative lengths of the toes are IV>III>V>II>I. Dorsal skin is smooth, but is pustular and creased ventromedial to cloaca and on underside of forelimbs. There is a short transverse fold of skin dorsal to cloaca. Color in life of this species is unknown.

Distribution and Habitat

Country distribution from AmphibiaWeb's database: Peru

View distribution map in BerkeleyMapper.

Only known from its type locality in the Cordillera Colán.

Life History, Abundance, Activity, and Special Behaviors
This species was collected in rocky, high-gradient stream in undisturbed cloud forest.

Possible reasons for amphibian decline

General habitat alteration and loss

References

Wiens, J. J. (1993). ''Systematics of the leptodactylid frog genus Telmatobius in the Andes of Northern Peru.'' Occasional Papers of the Museum of Natural History of the University of Kansas, (162), 1-76.

Species Account Citation: AmphibiaWeb 2004 Telmatobius colanensis <https://amphibiaweb.org/species/2692> University of California, Berkeley, CA, USA. Accessed Dec 18, 2024.

Citation: AmphibiaWeb. 2024. <https://amphibiaweb.org> University of California, Berkeley, CA, USA. Accessed 18 Dec 2024.

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