Description
Allobates wayuu is a small species of frog, with a snout-vent length of 13.6 – 17.4 mm in males, and 15.8 – 19.7 mm in females. The snout appears ovoid when viewed from above, and is directed anteroventrally when viewed from the side. The nostrils are non-protuberant and are directed posterolaterally. The canthus rostralis is indistinct, and the region between the eye and nostril is somewhat elevated and faint. The upper lip is non-protuberant and not widened. The skin on the head is smooth. The tympanum is partially covered posteriorly. There are no tubercles behind the mouth. The skin on the back, sides of the body, and back is smooth. The hands are fairly big, and the fingertips are expanded. There is no webbing between the fingers. The relative finger lengths are: III > IV > II ≥ I. The palmar tubercle is raised and ovoid, and the thenar tubercle is small, raised, and elliptical. The subarticular tubercles of the hand are big, raised, and ovoid. The legs are slender and measure on average 50% of the snout-vent length. There is an internal tarsal fold that is short and enlarged, but no external tarsal fold. The internal metartarsal tubercle is big, raised, and somewhat ovoid. The supernumerary plantar tubercles are small, ovoid, and raised. The toe tips are expanded. No information is available on relative toe lengths. The cloaca is directed posterolaterally (Acosta-Galvis et al. 1999).

The larvae appear somewhat ovoid when viewed from the side. When viewed from above, the snout is ovoid and the edge of the mouth is visible. The eyes are located dorsolaterally, and the nostril is closer to the snout than to the eye. There is a short sinistral spiracle near the longitudinal axis of the body (Acosta-Galvis et al. 1999).

Allobates wayuu was formerly ascribed to the genus Colostethus. Frogs in Colostethus (or formerly in Colostethus) can be distinguished from other frogs by the following combination of characters: an unexpanded third fingertip; presence of a conspicuous dorsolateral band in some examples; presence of ventrolateral band; gular and abdominal regions with flecking; third finger expanded in males; white testicles. Allobates wayuu can be distinguished from the following Colostethus (or frogs formerly in Colostethus) species by the following characteristics: from C. imbricolus and C. pratti by the presence of webbing between fingers II – III and III – IV; from C. inguinalis by the presence of an enlarged third finger and webbing between toes II – III and III – IV; from Anomaloglossus lacrimosus by the lack of extensive webbing and the presence of a dorsolateral band; from Allobates marchesianus by the lack of an expanded third fingertip and length of finger I ≤ II; from Rheobates palmatus and Hyloxalus chocoensis by the lack of extensive webbing and the presence of a dorsolateral ventrolateral band; from Silverstoneia nubicola by the webbing between fingers II – III and III – IV and the presence of a dorsolateral band; from Allobates talamancae by the presence of dorsolateral, oblique lateral, and ventrolateral bands; from C. ruthveni by the presence of an oblique lateral and ventrolateral band, and having the length of finger I ≤ II; from C. lynchi by the lack of a shielded cloaca (Acosta-Galvis et al. 1999).

In life, the adult is generally brown. Both the arms and legs are cream colored, and the legs additionally have faint brown bars. The sides of the body are faint brown. The dorsolateral, oblique lateral, and ventrolateral bands are cream colored. The upper lip has a mild cream color. The underside is creamy with brown-gray markings on the throat that may indistinct. The fingertips and toe tips are obscure brown. In alcohol, the adult displays similar coloration as in life. The sides of the head are faint brown. The thigh has an uneven faint brown band. The underside is creamy with some diffuse brown spotting. The palms of the hand and feet are creamy and mildly speckled brown (Acosta-Galvis et al. 1999).

In life, the larva shows spotted black pigmentation throughout its body. In formalin, the back and sides are black. The underside is unpigmented. The tail is transparent, and shows diffuse black spotting. The muscular region of the tail is creamy (Acosta-Galvis et al. 1999).

The relative lengths of certain body parts with respect to the snout-vent length, such as the head, eyes, tibia, and feet differ from individual to individual (Acosta-Galvis et al. 1999).

Distribution and Habitat

Country distribution from AmphibiaWeb's database: Colombia

View distribution map in BerkeleyMapper.

This species is only known from Parque Nacional Natural de Macuira, on the Serranía of Macuira, in the Department of Guajira, Colombia. It occurs in an isolated forest habitat in an otherwise arid region. It has an altitudinal range of 210 – 780 m (Acosta-Galvis and Grant 2004).

Life History, Abundance, Activity, and Special Behaviors
Only a single population of this species has been found. Allobates wayuu is reproductively active early in the morning, and males have been observed calling on rocks. Eggs are deposited onto the forest floor and after the tadpoles hatch, the males carry them to streams and ponds where they develop. Free-swimming tadpoles were found in isolated litter layers in the month of August (Acosta-Galvis et al. 1999, Acosta-Galvis and Grant 2004).

Trends and Threats
It is currently not under any major threat and its range is in a national park, but its restricted range makes it susceptible to threats associated with small populations. Population trends are difficult to observe as there is only a single population (Acosta-Galvis and Grant 2004).

Possible reasons for amphibian decline

Prolonged drought
Loss of genetic diversity from small population phenomena

Comments
The species authority is: Acosta-Galvis, A. R., Cuentas, D. A., Coloma, L. A. (1999). "Una nueva especie de Colostethus (Anura: Dendrobatidae) de la Región Caribe de Colombia." Revista de la Academia Colombiana de Ciencias Exáctas Físicas y Naturales, 23, 225-230.

This species was previously in the family Dendrobatidae and the genus Colostethus. Before the taxonomic revision of the Colostethus genus in 2006, Colostethus had 138 species, but now it only comprises 18 species with the remaining 120 species being distributed to either the family Dendrobatidae or the newly established family Aromobatidae (Grant et al. 2006).

References

Acosta-Galvis, A. R., Cuentas, D. A., Coloma, L. A. (1999). ''Una nueva especie de Colostethus (Anura: Dendrobatidae) de la Región Caribe de Colombia.'' Revista de la Academia Colombiana de Ciencias Exáctas Físicas y Naturales, 23, 225-230.

Acosta-Galvis, A., Grant, T. (2004). Allobates wayuu. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2014.3 www.iucnredlist.org. Downloaded on 06 May 2015.

Grant, T., Frost, D. R., Caldwell, J. P., Gagliardo, R., Haddad, C. F. B., Kok, P. J. R., Means, D. B., Noonan, B. P., Schargel, W. E., and Wheeler, W. C. (2006). ''Phylogenetic systematics of dart-poison frogs and their relatives (Amphibia: Athesphatanura: Dendrobatidae).'' Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History, (299), 1-262.

Species Account Citation: AmphibiaWeb 2015 Allobates wayuu <https://amphibiaweb.org/species/6577> University of California, Berkeley, CA, USA. Accessed Nov 22, 2024.

Citation: AmphibiaWeb. 2024. <https://amphibiaweb.org> University of California, Berkeley, CA, USA. Accessed 22 Nov 2024.

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