Dryadobates olfersioides

Rio rocket frog
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Amphibia
Order: Anura
Family: Aromobatidae
Genus: Dryadobates
Species:
D. olfersioides
Binomial name
Dryadobates olfersioides
(Lutz, 1925)
Synonyms[2]
  • Eupemphix olfersioïdes Lutz, 1925
  • Phyllobates olfersioides Bokermann, 1966
  • Colostethus olfersioides Edwards, 1971
  • Phyllobates capixaba Bokermann, 1967
  • Allobates olfersioides Grant, Frost, Caldwell, et al., 2006

Dryadobates olfersioides, the Rio rocket frog, is a species of frog in the family Aromobatidae. It is endemic to the coastal regions of the Atlantic Forest biome of eastern Brazil.[2]

This formerly very common species has recently declined and is now absent from many historical locations, but remains common in some areas. It is threatened by habitat loss and possibly chytridiomycosis.[1]

The natural habitats of Dryadobates olfersioides are primary and secondary forests. It is a diurnal frog that lives on the forest floor. Clutch size is up to 11 eggs. Eggs are laid in a terrestrial nest where they hatch. Tadpoles are carried by the parents to puddles or small rivulets where they feed until metamorphosis.[1]

Status

While the IUCN currently lists this species as Least Concern, this assessment was performed under the assumption that Dryadobates olfersioides contains four subpopulations, originally described by Werner Bokermann as distinct species Phyllobates olfersiodes, P. capixaba, P. carioca, and P. alagoanus.[1][3] Following the re-elevation of Dryadobates alagoanus, Dryadobates capixaba, and Dryadobates carioca to species status, D. olfersioides is confined to the IUCN-described subpopulation in Rio de Janeiro.[2][4] No individual has been found in the Rio de Janeiro population since the 1970s, and Grant et al. conclude that this species is critically endangered, if not extinct.[1][4]

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 IUCN SSC Amphibian Specialist Group & Instituto Boitatá de Etnobiologia e Conservação da Fauna (2023). "Allobates olfersioides". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2023 e.T55122A117548027. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2023-1.RLTS.T55122A117548027.en.
  2. 1 2 3 Frost, Darrel R. (2024). "Dryadobates olfersioides (Lutz, 1925)". Amphibian Species of the World: an Online Reference. Version 6.2. American Museum of Natural History.
  3. ↑ Bokermann, W.C.A. (1967). "Novas espécies de Phyllobates do leste e sudeste brasileiro (Anura, Dendrobatidae)". Revista Brasileira de Biologia. 27: 349–353.
  4. 1 2 Grant, Taran; Lyra, Mariana L.; Hofreiter, Michael; Preick, Michaela; Barlow, Axel; Verdade, Vanessa K.; Rodrigues, Miguel Trefant (2025). "Museomics and the Systematics of the Atlantic Forest Nurse Frogs (Dendrobatoidea: Aromobatidae: Allobatinae)". Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History. 472: 1–76. doi:10.1206/0003-0090.472.1.1.