Conservation Actions
Conservation ActionsThis species occurs in Mount Gede Pangrango National Park and Mount Halimun Salak National Park. It is officially protected by the Government of Indonesia (Ministry of Environment and Forestry 2018, Regulation of the Minister of Environment and Forestry of the Republic of Indonesia Number P.20 / MENLHK / SETJEN / KUM.1 / 6/2018 concerning Types of Protected Plants and Animals).
Conservation Needed
A captive-breeding programme might need to be established. Protection of its main habitat in the third waterfall of Cibeureum is also recommended, by closing the area to recreational tourism (Kusrini 2007).
Research Needed
More research on the ecology and behaviour of this species is needed (Kusrini 2007).
Location Information
This species is restricted to a few localities in the west of Java, Indonesia. It has been recorded from five sites in and around Mount Gede Pangrango National Park (Curug Cibeureum, Rawa Denok, Selabintana, Lebak Saat, Curug Luhur) (van Kampen 1923, Liem 1973, Iskandar 1998), and is also reported from around Mount Halimun Salak National Park (Cikeris, Mount Botol) (Kurniati 2003, Kurniati 2006). Records from Ciapus River in 1977 cannot be located to a specific site. In Mount Gede Pangrango National Park it used to occur between 1,685-2,500 m asl (Liem 1973, M. Kusrini pers. comm. August 2009), but a shift in its elevational distribution in the last 40 years has been reported and it now occurs between 1,200-2,000 m asl (Kusrini et al. 2017); subpopulations above 2,000 m asl have disappeared. In Mount Halimum Salak National Park it has been found between 1,600-1,800 m asl. It may occur more widely on other mountain tops within western Java, but further surveys are required. Its extent of occurrence (EOO) is 660 km2.Records of this species from Mount Ciremai National Park at c. 1,200 m asl (PILI et al. 2013) and from Mount Slamet at ca. 1,400 m asl (Mumpuni 2014) have now been assigned to Leptophryne javanica (Hamidy et al. 2018), and thus been removed from this species distribution map.
Geographic Range
Extant
Indonesia
Population Information
In 1976, this species was abundant within its small range. By 1987, it was very rare, and there were no records from the early 1990s until 2003, when one individual was sighted at Curug Cibeureum. Regular monitoring in recent years at the Curug Cibeureum site (which is by far the best known subpopulation) has not normally found more than 10 mature individuals at a time. There appears to have been a major population decline before 1987, and the species has apparently disappeared above 2,000 m asl (Kusrini et al. 2008); for example, it no longer occurs at Lebak Saat (2,500 m asl) in Mount Gede Pangrango National Park (Kusrini et al. 2017). Fieldwork conducted at Mount Halimun Salak in 2018 found just one individual (M. Kusrini pers. comm. December 2018). It is possible that the global population is less than 250 mature individuals, with each subpopulation containing less than 50 individuals. The population is considered to be severely fragmented. Due to ongoing decline in the quality of habitat, the population is suspected to be decreasing.Threats
The sharp decline and disappearance of this species at higher elevations is reminiscent of similar disappearances of montane stream-breeding amphibians in other parts of the moist tropics, which could be caused by the introduction of the chytrid fungus Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis (Bd) (Kusrini et al. 2008). The initial rapid decline was once attributed to the volcanic eruption of the nearby Mount Galunggung, but the type of decline observed is more indicative of chytridiomycosis. This species has been tested for presence of Bd, with an inconclusive result (Kusrini 2007, Kusrini et al. 2008). In addition, one of the main waterfalls in Curug Cibeureum in Mount Gede Pangrango National Park has been opened to public access for tourism (Kusrini 2007). Activities in this site, such as washing in streams, using soap and littering are threatening this subpopulation (Indonesia Red List Assessment Workshop May 2017). It has also been found for sale online, but it is not known how this affects wild subpopulations.IUCN Red List Account Link
Please click here to see the species' IUCN Red List Account page.Photo Credits
Arief Tajalli (category and featured image)
