Gunther's Marsupial Frog
CR

Gunther's Marsupial Frog

Gastrotheca guentheri

Unknown

Photo: Wikimedia Commons (CC) via https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gastrotheca_guentheri

Overview

Gastrotheca guentheri is a species of frog in the family Hemiphractidae. It is found in the Andes of Colombia and Ecuador. Gastrotheca guentheri is the only known frog with true teeth in both of its jaws, as indicated by the name of the genus it originally typified, Amphignathodon, described by George Albert Boulenger in 1882.

Gunther's Marsupial Frog faces severe threats primarily from habitat destruction due to deforestation, agricultural expansion, and urban development in its limited montane cloud forest range in Ecuador. Climate change poses an additional significant threat by altering the temperature and humidity conditions essential for this species' survival and reproduction.

Threat summary

Habitat

Natural habitats of Gastrotheca guentheri are tropical moist forests. These frogs are nocturnal and live on vegetation, including arboreal bromeliads.

This species is declining in abundance. One cause of the declines is habitat loss, but the species has also declined within suitable habitat in Ecuador, possibly because of climate change or chytridiomycosis.

Other threatened species in Hemiphractidae

VU

Fuhrmann's Backpack Frog

Cryptobatrachus fuhrmanni

Unknown
Cusco Triangular-headed FrogCR

Cusco Triangular-headed Frog

Hemiphractus helioi

Unknown
CR

Weinland's Marsupial Frog

Gastrotheca weinlandii

Unknown

Frequently asked questions

Why is Gunther's Marsupial Frog classified as Critically Endangered?
Gunther's Marsupial Frog is classified as Critically Endangered — facing an extremely high risk of extinction in the wild — because population sizes are very small, declining sharply, or restricted to a tiny range. Gunther's Marsupial Frog faces severe threats primarily from habitat destruction due to deforestation, agricultural expansion, and urban development in its limited montane cloud forest range in Ecuador. Climate change poses an additional significant threat by altering the temperature and humidity conditions essential for this species' survival and reproduction.
Where does Gunther's Marsupial Frog live?
Gunther's Marsupial Frog occurs in across multiple regions. Country-level distribution data is sourced from the IUCN Red List and cross-referenced with GBIF occurrences.
What are the main threats to Gunther's Marsupial Frog?
The main threats to Gunther's Marsupial Frog are ai-1, ai-2, ai-3, and ai-4. The full IUCN-classified threat record for this species is detailed on the species page.

Get weekly conservation intelligence

One short digest a week of the most striking species and country data we ship, plus breaking conservation news paired with our database where it matters.

Free, no spam. One-click unsubscribe in every email.