Highest-living amphibians

Highest-living amphibians
Who
Marbled water frog, Telmatobius marmoratus, Andean toad, Rhinella spinulosa, Marbled four-eyed frog, Pleurodema marmoratum
What
5,200–5,400 metre(s)
Where
Peru (Cordillera Vilcanota)
When
07 February 2017

The highest-living amphibians known are three species of anuran: the marbled water frog (Telmatobius marmoratus), Andean toad (Rhinella spinulosa) and marbled four-eyed frog (Pleurodema marmoratum). All three were found living in recently melted glacial ponds in the Cordillera Vilcanota in southern Peru at elevations of 5,200–5,400 m (17,060–17,717 ft) above sea level. The findings were documented in the journal Ecology and Evolution on 7 February 2017.

This surpassed the previous highest amphibian documented: the Boulenger's lazy toad (Scutiger boulengeri), recorded at an altitude of 5,270 m (17,290 ft) in the Himalayan Lake Gurudongmar in Sikkim, India, as reported in the Journal of Threatened Taxa on 26 August 2015.