Atelopus mucubajiensis
Atelopus mucubajiensis, also known as the Mucubaji stubfoot toad, is a species of toad in the family Bufonidae. It is endemic to the Mérida Andes of Venezuela. This once abundant species was last observed in 2004. It is likely extinct.
Description
Adult males measure and adult females in snout–vent length. The snout is not projecting. The hindlimbs are relatively short. The dorsal coloration is yellow, brown yellowish, or greenish brown, with irregular brownish spots that sometimes for an "X" pattern. The flanks are yellowish. Throat and anterior part of the belly are yellowish with brown spots; the posterior of the belly is red. There are dorsolateral rows of warts, and scattered warts elsewhere.This species emits two types of calls, "pure tone calls" and "pure tone short calls". The latter was emitted by a male in amplexus with a female in a collection bag. The source of the former is uncertain and could even have been a female.
Geographic range and habitat
This species has a very limited range of a merely few square kilometers at the type locality, in the Páramo de Mucubají, in the Sierra de Santo Domingo, Venezuelan Andes. Its altitudinal range is above sea level.It inhabits páramo and sub-páramo environments. It is usually found within grasses and Espeletia, and along streams, its breeding habitat. At lower elevations it probably lives in shrubs. It has also been found in cloud forest, but this is not considered its preferred habitat.