FAUNA PARAGUAY LIST OF THE AMPHIBIANS OF PARAGUAY

The following is a list of the 82 amphibian species documented for Paraguay based on Brusquetti & Lavilla (2006). The scientific and English names are given (where they exist). Numbers in brackets after the order and family names refer to the number of species recorded in Paraguay. A further 19 species cited for Paraguay were removed from the list by the same authors based on insufficient evidence and 30 additional species not yet recorded were predicted to occur (see bottom of page). Taxonomy of amphibians is in a rapid state of change. Here we also include the most recent synonym of the scientific name. Global conservation status is given in red after the species name and follows the 2007 IUCN red list categories.
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Order Gymnophiona (3) Caecilians (Rafinesque 1814)

Caecilidae (2) Burrowing Caecilians (Gray 1825)

Luetkenotyphlops brasiliensis (Luetken 1852 "1851") DD
Siphonops paulensis (Boettger 1892) LR/lc

Typhlonectidae (1) Aquatic Caecilians (Taylor 1968)

ARGENTINE CAECILIAN Chthonerepton indistinctum (Reinhardt & Lutken 1862) LR/lc

Order Anura (79) Frogs and Toads (Dumeríl 1804)

Hylidae (28) Tree-frogs (Rafinesque 1815)

Subfamily Hylinae (Rafinesque 1815)
Argenteohyla simiersi pederseni (Williams & Bosso 1994) EN/B2ab(iii)
Dendropsophus elianeae (Napoli & Carramaschi 2000) =Hyla elianeae LR/lc
Dendropsophus jimi (Napoli & Carramaschi 1999) =Hyla elianeae LR/lc
Dendropsophus melanargyreus (Cope 1887) =Hyla melanargyrea LR/lc
LESSER TREE-FROG Dendropsophus minutus (Peters 1872b) =Hyla minuta LR/lc
DWARF TREE-FROG Dendropsophus nanus (Boulenger 1889) =Hyla nana LR/lc
SANBORN´S TREE-FROG Dendropsophus sanborni (Schmidt 1944) =Hyla sanborni LR/lc
SPOTTED TREE-FROG Hypsiboas albopunctatus (Spix 1824) =Hyla albopunctata LR/lc
RINKY-DINK TREE-FROG Hypsiboas caingua (Carrizo 1991 "1990") =Hyla caingua LR/lc
Hypsiboas faber (Wied-Neuwied 1821) =Hyla faber LR/lc
Hypsiboas pulchellus (Duméril & Bibron 1841) =Hyla pulchella LR/lc
Hypsiboas punctatus rubrolineatus (Lutz 1951) =Hyla punctata rubrolineata (possibly a species distinct from H.punctatus) LR/lc
PURPLE-BARRED TREE-FROG Hypsiboas raniceps (Cope 1862) = Hyla raniceps LR/lc
Hypsioboas aff. semiguttatus =Hyla semiguttata (a new species currently being described) DD
Idapotihyla langsdorffii (Duméril & Bibron 1841) =Osteocephalus langsdorffii LR/lc
WARTY SNOUTED TREE-FROG Scinax acuminatus (Cope 1862) LR/lc
DWARF SNOUTED TREE-FROG Scinax berthae (Barrio 1962) LR/lc
Scinax fuscomarginatus (A. Lutz 1925) LR/lc
YELLOW-LEGGED SNOUTED TREE-FROG Scinax fuscovarius (A. Lutz 1925) LR/lc
LESSER SNOUTED TREE-FROG Scinax nasicus (Cope 1862) LR/lc
Scinax similis (Cochran 1952) LR/lc
STRIPED SNOUTED TREE-FROG Scinax squalirostris (A. Lutz 1925) LR/lc
MARBLED TREE-FROG Trachycephalus venulosus (Laurenti 1768) =Phrynohyas venulosa LR/lc

Subfamily Phyllomedusinae (Gunther 1858)
ORANGE-LEGGED LEAF FROG Phyllodmedusa azurea (Cope 1862) =Phyllomedusa hypochondrialis azurea LR/lc
SAUVAGE´S LEAF FROG Phyllodmedusa sauvagii (Boulenger 1882) LR/lc
Phyllodmedusa tetraploidea (Pombal & Haddad 1992) =Phyllomedusa iheringi LR/lc

Subfamily Pseudinae (Fitzinger 1843)
CLICKING FROG Lysapsus limellum (Cope 1862) =Lysapsus limellus LR/lc
PARADOX FROG Pseudis paradoxus (Gallardo 1961b) = Pseudis paradoxa LR/lc

Leptodactylidae (14) American Pond Frogs (Werner 1896)
SHOVEL-NOSED CHAMBER FROG Leptodactylus bufonius (Boulenger 1894) LR/lc
CHACO FROG Leptodactylus chaquensis (Cei 1950) LR/lc
Leptodactylus diptyx (Boettger 1885a) (=Adenomera diptyx) LR/lc
Leptodactylus elenae (Heyer 1978) LR/lc
Leptodactylus furnarius (Sazira & Bokermann 1978) LR/lc
FUSCOUS FROG Leptodactylus fuscus (Schneider 1799) LR/lc
DUMERIL´S STRIPED FROG Leptodactylus gracilis (Duméril & Bibron 1841) LR/lc
PEPPER FROG Leptodactylus labyrinthicus (Spix 1824) LR/lc
RED-SPOTTED BURROW FROG Leptodactylus laticeps (Boulenger 1918) LR/nt
OVEN FROG Leptodactylus latinasus (Jiménez de la Espada 1875) LR/lc
MOUSTACHED FROG Leptodactylus mystacinus (Burmeister 1861) LR/lc
OCELLATED FROG Leptodactylus ocellatus (Linneaus 1758) LR/lc
SPECKLED-BELLIED FROG Leptodactylus podicipinus (Cope 1862) LR/lc
Leptodactylus syphax (Bokermann 1969) LR/lc

Ceratophryidae (5) Horned Toads (Tschudi 1838)
CRANWELL´S HORNED FROG Ceratophrys cranwelli (Barrio 1980) LR/lc
LESSER CHINI FROG Chacophrys pierotti (Vellard 1948) LR/lc
BUDGETT´S FROG Lepidobatrachus asper (Budgett 1899) LR/nt
Lepidobatrachus laevis (Budgett 1899) LR/lc
Lepidobatrachus llanensis (Reig & Cei 1963) LR/lc

Cycloramphidae (4) Escuerzos (Bonaparte 1850)
Limnomedusa macroglossa (Duméril & Bibron 1841) LR/lc
LESSER ESCUERZO Odontophrynus americanus (Duméril & Bibron 1841) LR/lc
Odontophrynus lavillai (Cei 1985) LR/lc
ORANGE-BELLIED ESCUERZO Proceratophrys avelinoi (Mercadal de Barrio & Barrio 1993) LR/lc

Leiuperidae (11) Dwarf Frogs (Bonaparte 1850)
Eupemphix nattereri (Steindachner 1863) =Physalaemus nattereri LR/lc
PALE-LEGGED DWARF FROG Physalaemus albonotatus (Steindachner 1864) LR/lc
WEEPING DWARF FROG Physalaemus biligonigerus (Cope 1861) LR/lc
Physalaemus centralis (Bokermann 1862) LR/lc
CUVIER´S DWARF FROG Physalaemus cuvieri (Fitzinger 1826) LR/lc
Physalaemus fuscomaculatus (Steindachner 1864) LR/lc
RIO GRANDE DWARF FROG Physalaemus riograndensis (Milstead 1960) LR/lc
Pseudopaludicola boliviana (Parker 1927) LR/lc
HENSEL´S SWAMP FROG Pseudopaludicola falcipes (Hensel 1867) LR/lc
Pseudopaludicola mystacalis (Cope 1887) LR/lc
Pseudopaludicola ternetzi (Miranda-Ribeiro 1937) LR/lc

Bufonidae (12) Toads (Gray 1825)
Melanophryniscus atroluteus (Mirando-Ribeiro 1920) LR/lc
SPOTTED RED-BELLY TOAD Melanophryniscus fulvoguttatus (Mertens 1937) LR/lc
Melanophryniscus klappenbachi (Prigioni & Langone 2000) =Melanophryniscus stelzneri LR/lc
Melanophryniscus sp (a new species awaiting description) DD
Rhinella bergi (Céspedez 2000) =Bufo bergi LR/lc
BELLA VISTA TOAD Rhinella fernandezae (Gallardo 1957) =Bufo fernandezae LR/lc
AZARA´S GRANULATED TOAD Rhinella granulosua azarai =Bufo granulosus (about to be split) LR/lc
CHACO GRANULATED TOAD Rhinella granulosua major (Muller & Hellmich 1936) =Bufo granulosus (about to be split) LR/lc
Rhinella icterica (Spix 1824) =Bufo ictericus LR/lc
ORNATE FOREST TOAD Rhinella ornata (Spix 1824) =Bufo crucifer LR/lc
ROCOCO TOAD Rhinella schneideri (Werner 1894) =Bufo paracnemis LR/lc
COPE´S TOAD Rhinella scitula (Caramaschi & Niemeyer 2003) =Bufo dyptichus DD

Hylodidae (1) Crossodactylid Frogs (Gunther 1858)
Crossodactylus schmidti (Gallardo 1961a) LR/nt

Microhylidae (3) Microhylid Frogs (Gunther 1858)
Chiasmocleis albopunctata (=albonotata) LR/lc
MUELLER´S NARROW-MOUTHED FROG Dermatonotus muelleri LR/lc
YELLOW-BELLIED NARROW-MOUTHED FROG Elachistocleis bicolor LR/lc

Ranidae (1) Non-native Bullfrogs (Linneaus 1758)
AMERICAN BULLFROG Rana catesbeiana LR/lc

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The following 30 taxa are considered of possible or probable occurrence in Paraguay by Brusquetti & Lavilla (2006):

Aplastodiscus perviridis (Lutz 1950) - Records from the Atlantic Forest of Misiones, Argentina are close to the Paraguayan border. Its presence in Paraguay is considered probable.

Chaunus arenarum (Hensel 1867) - Recorded close to the Paraguayan border in the Chaco of Argentina and Bolivia. Often cited for Paraguay (Bertoni 1939, Gallardo 1987) but currently no specimen or documented evidence exists. Its presence in Paraguay is considered probable.

Chaunus granulosus mirandoribeiroi (Gallardo 1965) - Currently considered a subspecies but likely worthy of specific recognition, this species is of probable occurrence in the cerrado belt.

Chiasmocleis mehelyi (Caramaschi & Cruz 1990) - Recorded in the Brazilian cerrado and Pantanal and may also be present in Paraguay.

Dendropsophus tritaeniatus (Bokermann 1965) - Known from the cerrado of Bolivia and Brazil and likely also present in Paraguay.

Eleutherodactylus henselii (Peters 1870) - Possible in the relict Araucaria forests of eastern Paraguay though deforestation in this area has been extensive. Its presence in Paraguay is considered possible.

Epipedobates braccatus (Steindachner 1864) - A Pantanal species that may be present in the Mato Grosso region of Paraguay. It occurs in neighbouring Brazil.

Epipedobates pictus (Tschudi 1838) - A Pantanal species that may be present in the Mato Grosso region of Paraguay. It occurs in neighbouring Brazil.

Hyalinobatrachium uranoscopum (Muller 1924) - Possible in the relict Araucaria forests of eastern Paraguay though deforestation in this area has been extensive. Its presence in Paraguay is considered possible.

Hypsiboas varilae (Carrizo 1992) - Known only from its type locality in Argentina, it is however close to Paraguay and its occurrence here is considered possible.

Leptodactylus plaumanni (Ahl 1936) - Possible in the relict Araucaria forests of eastern Paraguay though deforestation in this area has been extensive. Its presence in Paraguay is considered possible.

Melanophryniscus devincenzii (Klappenbach 1968) - Records from the Atlantic Forest of Misiones, Argentina are close to the Paraguayan border. Its presence in Paraguay is considered probable.

Melanophryniscus krauczuki (Baldo & Basso 2004) - Records from the Atlantic Forest of Misiones, Argentina are close to the Paraguayan border. Its presence in Paraguay is considered probable.

Odontophrynus cordobae (Martino & Sinsch 2002) - A cryptic species extremely similar to O.americanus. Though currently known only from the Cordoba area of Argentina, Frost (2006) tentatively suggested that its distribution may reach Paraguay. Its presence in Paraguay is considered possible.

Phyllomedusa boliviana (Boulenger 1902) - Recorded in the Bolivian Chaco close to the Paraguayan border. Its presence in Paraguay is considered probable.

Physalaemus cuqui (Lobo 1993) - Recorded on the opposite bank of the Rio Pilcomayo in Argentina. Its presence in Paraguay is considered probable.

Physalaemus gracilis (Boulenger 1883) - Cited by numerous authors for Paraguay though no evidence of its occurrence here exists. Alvarez et al (1995) misidentified an Ayolas specimen of P.albonotatus as this species. Its occurrence in Paraguay is considered probable as it occurs in neighbouring northern Argentina.

Physalaemus henselii (Peters 1872a) - A Paraguayan specimen MN486 in the Museum of Natural History in Rio de Janeiro has been referred to this species but its poor condition renders it unidentifiable. Its occurrence in Paraguay is considered probable.

Physalaemus santafecinus (Barrio 1965c) - A Cerro Corá specimen identified as this species is actually P.fuscomaculatus. However its occurrence in Paraguay is considered probable.

Plueroderma guayapae (Barrio 1964b) - A population exists near to the Paraguayan border in Tarija, Bolivia. Its occurrence in Paraguay is considered probable.

Proceratophrys bigibbosa (Peters 1872a) - Records from the Atlantic Forest of Misiones, Argentina are close to the Paraguayan border. Its presence in Paraguay is considered probable.

Pseudis minutus (Gunther 1858) - cited by Méheli (1904) for the Asunción and Concepción area, but currently no specimen or documented evidence exists. Its presence in Paraguay is considered probable as it has been found on islands in the Rio Paraná.

Pseudopaludicola mirandae (Mercadal de Barrio & Barrio 1994) - Records from the Atlantic Forest of Misiones, Argentina are close to the Paraguayan border. Its presence in Paraguay is considered probable.

Scinax aromothyella (Faivovich 2005) - Records from the Atlantic Forest of Misiones, Argentina are close to the Paraguayan border. Its presence in Paraguay is considered probable.

Scinax granulatus (Peters 1871) - Cited by Aquino et al (1996) as S.eringiophila but lacking documentation or a specimen. The occurrence of this species in Paraguay is considered possible in the relict Araucaria forest of eastern Paraguay.

Scinax parkeri (Gaige 1929) - Known from the cerrado of Bolivia and possible in Paraguay.

Scinax perereca (Pombal, Haddad & Kasahara 1995) - Supposed Paraguayan specimens of this species are referable to S.fuscovarius, though its occurrence in Paraguay is considered probable as they occur in northern Argentina.

Scinax uruguayus (Schmidt 1944) - Records from the Atlantic Forest of Misiones, Argentina are close to the Paraguayan border. Its presence in Paraguay is considered probable.

Siphonops annulatus (Mikan 1820) - Cited as probable by Dunn (1942), Taylor (1968), Frost (2006), IUCN (2006). Wide-ranging distribution in South America and it is considered probable in Paraguay.

Trachycephalus imitratrix (Miranda-Ribeiro 1926) - Possible in the relict Araucaria forests of eastern Paraguay though deforestation in this area has been extensive. Its presence in Paraguay is considered possible.

The following 19 taxa were removed from the Paraguayan list by Brusquetti & Lavilla (2006) on the basis of lack of documented evidence, changes in taxonomy or misidentification:

Caecilia sp. - Reported from Bahìa Negra by (Padial et al 2003) but lacks proper documentation.

Ceratophrys ornata (Bell 1843) - Old records of this species in Paraguay (eg Budgett 1899) are referable to C.cranwelli which was split by Barrio (1980).

Chaunus dorbigyni (Duméril & Bibron 1841) - Published Paraguayan records (Boettger 1885a; Bertoni 1914 & 1939) likely refer to misidentified Chaunus granulosus major.

Dendropsophus rubicundulus (Reinhardt & Lutken 1862) - Cited for Paraguay by Aquino et al (1996) based on misidentified specimens of D.jimi and D.eleaneae.

Elachistocelis ovalis (Schneider 1799) - Distributed north of the River Amazon. The numerous citations of this species for Paraguay refer to E.bicolor.

Eleutherodactylus discoidalis (Peracca 1895) - Bertoni (1914) cites Hylodes discoidalis for Paraguay but this is an Andean species unlikely to ever occur in Paraguay.

Hyla palliata (Cope 1863) - Cited for Paraguay based on a lost specimen from the Page expedition. The written description does not facilitate identification beyond generic level to Hypsiboas.

Hypsiboas boans (Linneaus 1758) - Cited by Bertoni (1939) as Hyla boans but this species is distributed well to the north of Paraguay and its occurrence here is unlikely.

Hypsiboas cinerascens (Spix 1824) - Cited by Boulenger (1894) as Hyla granosa but this species is distributed well to the north of Paraguay and its occurrence here is unlikely.

Hypsiboas crepitans (Wied-Neuwied 1824) - Cited by Boettger (1885) and Bertoni (1914 & 1939) as Hyla crepitans but this species is distributed in dry areas well to the north of Paraguay and its occurrence here is unlikely.

Hypsiboas polytaenius (Cope 1870) - Cited from diverse localities in Paraguay by Aquino (1986) and Aquino et al (1996) but no evidence exists and it may be a result of an erroneus identification of H.caingua.

Lithobates palmipes (Spix 1824) - Registered as Rana palmipes by Bertoni (1939) no corroborative evidence exists to support its presence in Paraguay.

Melanophryniscus stelzneri (Weyenbergh 1875-1876) - Cited for Paraguay by Aquino et al (1996) based on a composite sample of M.atroluteus, M.fulvoguttatus, M.klappenbachi and a new species of Melanophryniscus.

Odontophrynus cultripes (Reinhardt & Lutken 1862) - Cited for Paraguay by Cope (1863) and Frost (2006), but no documentation or evidence exists. Its known range is confined to eastern Brazil.

Pleuroderma bibronii (Tschudi 1838) - Cited by Cope (1862) and later questioned by Gallardo (1968). There is no supporting evidence and the species is considered unlikely in Paraguay.

Proceratophrys appendiculata (Gunther 1873) - Izecksohn et al (1999) mention specimens supposedly from the Asunción area in the Museu de Zoologia da USP but the locality information may be suspect as there is no other evidence that the species occurs in Paraguay and the known range of the species is well-removed.

Proceratophrys boiei (Wied-Nueiwed 1824) - Mentioned by Bertoni (1939) as Odontophrynus boiei, but this likely refers to P.avelinoi which was described later. P.boiei is confined to eastern Brazil.

Scinax catharinae (Boulenger 1888) - Cited by Bertoni (1939) as Hyla catharinae but this species is confined to extreme southeast Brazil and its occurrence here is unlikely.

Scinax ruber (Laurenti 1768) - Cited by Bertoni (1939) as Hyla ruber but this species is distributed well to the north of Paraguay and its occurrence here is unlikely.

For references cited here see Brusquetti & Lavilla (2006) Lista Comentada de los Anfibios del Paraguay - Cuad. Herpetol 20(2): p3-79.
We highly recommend this paper to interested readers and it is available for reference in the FAUNA Paraguay library.