About
Barrio’s frogs are powerful and fast moving, often jumping to the middle of a stream and seeking shelter under submerged stones or along the stream bank if threatened.
They are a nocturnal species and may be seen feeding by the sides of streams at night. Barrio’s frog is strongly associated with streams, where they live and breed sometime between January and May, although both adults and tadpoles are not strong swimmers.
Barrio’s frog diverged from all other amphibians around 40 million years ago. In evolutionary terms, this frog is as distantly related to all other frogs as we are to howler monkeys!
Barrio’s frog is only known from a single locality, in Mehuin in the Valdivia Province of Chile, and occupy an area of less than 10 km². This species is listed as Critically Endangered by the IUCN Red List, and is threatened by habitat destruction due to wood extraction and the establishment of pine plantations. Barrio’s frog is not known from any protected areas, and there are currently no conservation measures underway for this species.
- Order: Anura
- Family: Rhinodermatidae
- Trend: stable
- Size: 42.6 - 47.9 mm
EDGE Score
Distribution
They are only found in Mehuin in the Valdivia Province of Chile. Their altitudinal range is from 50-200 metres above sea level. All individuals are in a single location.
Habitat and Ecology
This species prefers mountain gorge streams where the bottom is sandy and pebbly and the water is clear and fast. They require semi-submerged stones to hide under during the day and can inhabit water temperatures of 10-13°C. Breeding occurs after January and their eggs hatch into free-swimming tadpoles that develop over a 10-12 month period.