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	Conservation Status (definitions)
IUCN (Red List) Status	Critically Endangered (CR) See threat category on Global Amphibian Assessment web site.
CITES	No CITES Listing
Other International Status	Critically Endangered
National Status	Critically Endangered
Regional Status	Critically Endangered (to Puerto Roco)

Description
These yellowish to brown, pebbly-skinned frogs range from 2.5 - 4.5 inches in length. This Puerto Rican Crested Toad is a nocturnal one. They have gold marbled eyes. Both the male and female frogs have prominent crests above their eyes and snouts that are turned up. The female's skin is much rougher and crest a bit higher than their male counterpart's. The females are also generally a larger size than the males (Herpitarium 2001).

Distribution and Habitat

Country distribution from AmphibiaWeb's database: Puerto Rico, Virgin Islands, British

View distribution map using BerkeleyMapper.

The Puerto Rican Crest Toads, also known as Peltophryne lemur, are found in Puerto Rico and on the Virgin Gorda Island of the British Virgin Islands.

B. lemur tends to inhabit dry areas. There are mostly found in rocky limestone outcrops. At times the frog can be found in rain pools, in which they use only to breed.

Life History, Abundance, Activity, and Special Behaviors
Reproduction is sporadic and occurs only at certain times throughout the year, and is highly dependent upon rainfall. The rain provides temporary pools, which the frogs utilize to breed (Moreno 1985). The females lay long, black strands of eggs--sometimes up to 15,000. It takes about 18 days for these eggs to mature into toadlets.

The Bufo lemur diets generally consist of worms, insect larvae, insects, and other invertebrates (Herpitarium 2001).

Trends and Threats
The main factor leading to the decrease of Bufo lemur populations may be the destruction of their breeding grounds. Preservation of these sites may be the only way to prevent the extinction of the Bufo lemur species. Captive breeding programs such as the Species Survival Plan (SSP) are also being implemented. The main goal of this program is to captively breed endangered species in North America, as well as some foreign species. The SSP has been working to preserve the B. lemur for about 15 years and was the first amphibian cosidered for the program (Johnson 1999).

Another contributor to the decline of B. lemur is the introduction of the giant marine toad in the 1920s. The purpose of this toad was to control sugar cane grubs. However, the Puerto Rican Crested Toads has had to compete with the giant marine toad for breeding sites, food, and general habitat (Herpitarium 2001). Rats and the Indian maongoose are also believed to compete with B. lemur.

The SSP developed a breeding site in both Southern and Northern Puerto Rico. The Northern-breeding site was not protected and no toads has been seen there since 1988. The Southern site has been protected, however, at most, 1,000 adult toads have been observed there. Over the 15 years that SSP has been working with this amphibian, the population of B. lemur at the Southern site has decreased to around 200 adults (Johnson 1999).

Relation to Humans
The urban development programs and plans for building commercial areas and housing are a major threat, especially on the Northern coast. Breeding pools in the south were drained out in order to provide more area for parking space, leaving no spawning areas (Hedges et al. 2004).

Possible reasons for amphibian decline

General habitat alteration and loss
Habitat modification from deforestation, or logging related activities
Urbanization
Drainage of habitat
Predators (natural or introduced)

Comments
This toad is also known as Sapo concho in the Spanish language (Hedges et al. 2004).

References
 

Hedges, B., Joglar, R. & Thomas, R. 2004. Bufo lemur. In: IUCN 2004. 2004 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. .  

Herpitarium. 2001. Puerto Rican Crested Toad, Peltophryne lemur. Sedwick County Zoo.  

Johnson, Bob (1999). ''Recovery of the Puerto Rican Crested Toad.'' Endangered Species Bulletin  

Moreno, J.A. 1985. Notes on Peltophryne lemur. Unpubl. Report. 6 pp.

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