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This species is known only from the region of the type locality: El Tambo, near Guisito, at 800m asl, Cauca Department, Colombia. Lötters (1996) suggested that the elevation given for the type locality (300m asl) was a typographic error in the original publication.

It lives on the ground in tropical humid forests, and presumably breeds in streams.

There is no recent information on the population status of this species.

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The major threat is likely to be chytridiomycosis, as has occurred in many other species of Atelopus (although its occurrence at lower altitudes might afford it some level of protection from the disease). Additional threats include deforestation for agricultural development, illegal crops, logging and human settlement, and pollution resulting from the spraying of illegal crops.

• 2.3.3 Agro-industry grazing, ranching or farming
• 9.3.3 Herbicides and pesticides
• 5.3.5 Motivation Unknown/Unrecorded
• 8.1.2 Named species
• 1.1 Housing & urban areas
• 9.2.3 Type Unknown/Unrecorded
• 2.1.1 Shifting agriculture
• 2.3.2 Small-holder grazing, ranching or farming
• 2.1.3 Agro-industry farming
• 2.1.2 Small-holder farming

It occurs in Parque Nacional Natural Munchique. In view of the severe risk of chytridiomycosis, it is a high priority to conduct surveys to determine the current population status of this species, as well as to initiate a captive-breeding programme

• 3.2 Species recovery
• 2.1 Site/area management
• 3.4.1 Captive breeding/artificial propagation
• 1.1 Site/area protection

Listed as Endangered because of a predicted drastic population decline of more than 50% over the next ten years, due to chytridiomycosis, and because its Extent of Occurrence is less than 5,000 km2, all individuals are in fewer than five locations, and there is continuing decline in the extent and quality of its habitat in Cauca Department, Colombia.

• Acosta-Galvis, A.R. 2000. Ranas, Salamandras y Caecilias (Tetrapoda: Amphibia) de Colombia. Biota Colombiana: 289-319.
• Cannatella, D.C. 1981. A new Atelopus from Ecuador and Colombia. Journal of Herpetology: 133-138.
• La Marca, E., Lips, K.R., Lötters, S., Puschendorf, R., Ibáñez, R., Rueda-Almonacid, J.V., Schulte, R., Marty, C., Castro, F., Manzanilla-Puppo, J., Garcia-Perez, J.E., Toral, E., Bolaños, F., Chaves, G., Pounds, J.A. and Young, B. 2005. Catastrophic population declines and extinctions in Neotropical harlequin frogs (Bufonidae: Atelopus). Biotropica: 190-201.
• Lötters, S. 1996. The Neotropical Toad Genus Atelopus. Checklist - Biology - Distribution. Vences, M. and Glaw, F. Verlags GbR, Köln, Germany.
• Pounds, J.A., Bustamante, M.R., Coloma, L.A., Consuegra, J.A., Fogden, M.P.L., Foster, P.N., La Marca, E., Masters, K.L., Merino-Viteri, A., Puschendorf, R., Ron, S.R., Sánchez-Azofeifa, G.A., Still, C.J. and Young, B.E. 2006. Widespread amphibian extinctions from epidemic disease driven by global warming. Nature 439: 161-167.
• Ruiz-Carranza, P.M., Ardila-Robayo, M.C. and Lynch, J.D. 1996. Lista actualizada de la fauna de Amphibia de Colombia. Revista de la Academia Colombiana de Ciencias Exactas, Físicas y Naturales 20(77): 365-415.