The ecosystems that the El Pangán ProAves Reserve protects are exuberantly beautiful and extraordinarily diverse. A few days ago, in the midst of a torrential downpour, the Deputy Director of the Southwestern Region of the Fundación ProAves, Juan Carlos Luna, observed for the first time in the protected area the presence of the Mache Glass Frog (Cochranella mache).
This would be the first confirmed record for the department of Nariño. Previously the species had been reported for the departments of Antioquia, Valle del Cauca and Chocó. The Mache Glass Frog is distributed west of the Andes of Ecuador and Colombia in the Chocó tropical forest.
Its range includes lowland forests of northwestern Ecuador and Colombia, an area under constant pressure from logging companies, especially on the Ecuadorian side. This species is nocturnal and is associated with small bodies of water in primary and secondary forests.
The site where this individual was found is primary and well-preserved forest. It was found approximately 30 centimeters from the ground and was located thanks to its vocalization.
The name Cochranella is a patronymic in honor of Doris Mable Cochran, curator associated with the National Museum of Natural History of the Smithsonian Institution, who focused her research mainly on the Herpetofauna of Western India and South America, especially Brazil and Colombia. The specific epithet refers to the name of the Mache Mountain, where the species is was first described.
Thanks to the World Land Trust (WLT), American Bird Conservancy (ABC), Neotropical Migratory Bird Conservation Act (NMBCA) and Women for Conservation for their great commitment to the threatened amphibians of Colombia.
