Lutz's Rapids Frog
CR

Lutz's Rapids Frog

Paratelmatobius lutzii

Unknown

Photo: (c) Ivan Sazima, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC), uploaded by Ivan Sazima

Overview

Paratelmatobius lutzii is a species of frog in the family Leptodactylidae. The species is endemic to Brazil, where it is known from the Mantiqueira Mountains in the state of Minas Gerais.

Paratelmatobius lutzii faces severe threats from habitat destruction due to urban expansion and agricultural conversion in Brazil's Atlantic Forest region. The species' extremely restricted range makes it particularly vulnerable to local environmental changes, while water pollution from agricultural runoff and urban development degrades the pristine stream habitats essential for its reproduction. Climate change poses an additional threat by altering precipitation patterns and temperature regimes in its montane forest environment.

Threat summary

Habitat

This critically endangered frog inhabits pristine mountain streams and adjacent Atlantic Forest remnants in southeastern Brazil. It requires clean, fast-flowing water with rocky substrates for breeding and depends on the humid microclimate provided by intact forest canopy.

Forest· majorForest - Subtropical/tropical moist lowland· major

Conservation measures underway

Species managementSpecies recoveryEx-situ conservation

Other threatened species in LEPTODACTYLIDAE

VU

Pseudopaludicola restinga

Declining
EN

Gaige's Rapids Frog

Paratelmatobius gaigeae

Declining
CR

Mountain Chicken

Leptodactylus fallax

Declining
CR

Paratelmatobius mantiqueira

Unknown

Threatened in Brazil

Striped SmoothhoundCR

Striped Smoothhound

Mustelus fasciatus

Declining
VU

Mussismilia hispida

Declining
VU

Myrcia carioca

Declining
Brasilia TapaculoEN

Brasilia Tapaculo

Scytalopus novacapitalis

Declining

Frequently asked questions

Why is Lutz's Rapids Frog classified as Critically Endangered?
Lutz's Rapids 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. Paratelmatobius lutzii faces severe threats from habitat destruction due to urban expansion and agricultural conversion in Brazil's Atlantic Forest region. The species' extremely restricted range makes it particularly vulnerable to local environmental changes, while water pollution from agricultural runoff and urban development degrades the pristine stream habitats essential for its reproduction. Climate change poses an additional threat by altering precipitation patterns and temperature regimes in its montane forest environment.
Where does Lutz's Rapids Frog live?
Lutz's Rapids Frog occurs in Brazil. Country-level distribution data is sourced from the IUCN Red List and cross-referenced with GBIF occurrences.
What are the main threats to Lutz's Rapids Frog?
The main threats to Lutz's Rapids Frog are 7.1, 8.1, ai-1, and ai-2. The full IUCN-classified threat record for this species is detailed on the species page.

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