Gastrotheca cornuta
Overview
A detailed profile for this species is sourced from the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species as assessments become available.
Gastrotheca cornuta faces severe population decline primarily due to habitat destruction from agricultural expansion and urban development in Ecuador's cloud forest regions. The species' extremely limited range makes it particularly vulnerable to localized environmental changes, while climate change threatens to shift suitable temperature and humidity conditions beyond the frog's narrow altitudinal tolerance. Chytrid fungal disease has also been documented affecting related marsupial frog species in the region, posing an additional pathogen-based threat.
Habitat
This marsupial frog inhabits montane cloud forests and elfin forests at elevations between 2,800-3,400 meters in the Ecuadorian Andes. It requires high humidity environments with dense epiphytic vegetation where it can find suitable breeding sites in bromeliads and tree holes.