The amphibian fauna proper of Colombian paramos consists of only 39 species although a number of additional species has been reported as paramo species. These excluded taxa are more properly considered as species of the Andean forests that occur as well in the paramo-ized regions after the forests are cut. The compositon of the paramo fauna is notably different than the composition of the fauna of the country probably because only certain reproductive modes are suitable to the paramo environment. In general, the number of species in paramos of the various highland areas can be related to sizes and degree of fragmentation of paramo islands. How ever, the Cordillera Occidental is under-inventoried. A recurrent phylogenetic com ponent must be stressed—that related species occur in the same (or adjacent) ther mal level—the paramo fauna appears to be autochthonous rather than allochthonous.