Alsodes vanzolinii is a species of frog in the family Alsodidae.[2]

Alsodes vanzolinii
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Amphibia
Order: Anura
Family: Alsodidae
Genus: Alsodes
Species:
A. vanzolinii
Binomial name
Alsodes vanzolinii
Synonyms
  • Eupsophus vanzolinii Donoso-Barros, 1974

Taxonomy

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The first description of the species was published in 1974 by Roberto Donoso-Barros, who placed the species in the genus Eupsophus; it was moved to Alsodes in 1981 by J. Ramón Formas.[3] The specific name vanzolinii honors Paulo Vanzolini, a Brazilian herpetologist and composer.[4] The holotype, a male, was collected on the western slopes of the Nahuelbuta Range by Donoso-Barros in November 1971, at an elevation of about 100 m (330 ft), with the type locality given as Ramadillas, Arauco, Chile.[5][6]

Description

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The adult male frog measures 36.4 – 52.2 mm in snout-vent length and the adult female frog 42.7 – 54.4 mm. The skin of the dorsum is brown in color. There is a yellow triangle on the head. There is dark color between the eyes and nostrils, and the nostrils are dark in color. There are dark stripes on all four legs. Adult frogs' bellies are white in color but young frogs' bellies are darker in color. The young frogs also have white spots, as adults do.[2]

Geographic range

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A. vanzolinii is endemic to the western slopes of the Nahuelbuta Range, Arauco Province, Chile.[1]

Life cycle

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The eggs are yellow in color and about 2.33 mm in diameter. The tadpoles swim in pools in streams.[2][1]

Habitat

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The natural habitats of A. vanzolinii are temperate forests and rivers.[1]

Conservation status

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A. vanzolinii is threatened by habitat loss.[1] Alsodes vanzolinii is one of the 18 Alsodes species, 16 of which are present in Chile.[7] Currently, they are considered a critically endangered species by the IUCN (2010) and one of the most threatened Chilean anuran species due to the habitat destruction and expanding exotic tree plantations.[8] It is necessary to increase survey efforts of new populations and how plantation managements, like herbicides and fertilisers are affecting them.[9]

References

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  1. 1 2 3 4 5 IUCN SSC Amphibian Specialist Group (2019). "Alsodes vanzolinii". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2019 e.T932A79808564. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2019-1.RLTS.T932A79808564.en. Retrieved 6 October 2021.
  2. 1 2 3 Vicki Thill (June 11, 2013). Gordon Lau (ed.). "Alsodes vanzolinii (Donoso-Barros, 1974)". AmphibiaWeb. University of California, Berkeley. Retrieved May 12, 2025.
  3. Frost, Darrel R. (2026). "Alsodes vanzolinii (Donoso-Barros, 1974)". Amphibian Species of the World: an Online Reference. Version 6.2. American Museum of Natural History. Retrieved 30 May 2026.
  4. Beolens, Bo; Watkins, Michael; Grayson, Michael (22 April 2013). The Eponym Dictionary of Amphibians. Exeter, England: Pelagic Publishing. pp. 346–347. ISBN 978-1-907807-44-2.
  5. Donoso-Barros, R. (1974). "Nuevos reptiles y anfibios de Chile" (PDF). Boletin de la Sociedad de Biología de Concepción. 48: 226. Retrieved 30 May 2026.
  6. Formas, J. R. (1980). "The identity of the frog Eupsophus vanzolinii from Ramadillas, Nahuelbuta Range, southern Chile". Proceedings of the Biological Society of Washington. 93 (4): 920–927. Retrieved 30 May 2026 via Biodiversity Heritage Library.
  7. Puente-Torres, Soledad; Barceló, Matías; Simonetti, Javier A. (2017-11-17). "Alsodes vanzolinii (Donoso-Barros, 1974): a new locality in a disturbed habitat for a Critically Endangered species". Check List. 13 (6): 813–816. doi:10.15560/13.6.813. ISSN 1809-127X.
  8. Rabanal, Felipe E.; Alarcón, Diego (2010-08-01). "Amphibia, Anura, Cycloramphidae, Alsodes vanzolinii (Donoso-Barros, 1974): rediscovery in nature, latitudinal and altitudinal extension in Nahuelbuta Range, southern Chile". Check List. 6 (3): 362. doi:10.15560/6.3.362. ISSN 1809-127X.
  9. Correa, Claudio; Morales, Jesús; Schussler, Constantino; Ortiz, Juan C. (2020-01-02). "An enigmatic population of Alsodes (Anura, Alsodidae) from the Andes of central Chile with three species-level mitochondrial lineages". Mitochondrial DNA Part A. 31 (1): 25–34. doi:10.1080/24701394.2019.1704744. ISSN 2470-1394. PMID 31905031. S2CID 210041283.

Further reading

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  • Donoso-Barros R (1974). "Nuevos reptiles y anfibios de Chile ". Boletin de la Sociedad de Biología de Concepción 48: 217–229. (Eupsophus vanzolinii, new species, pp. 226–228, Figure 9). (in Spanish).