This species is known only from isolated patches in a small area of the mountains of western Cameroon at 950-1,500 m asl: Mount Manengouba, the Bamileke Plateau (at Fotabong, Fontem, and the Mbos Cliffs), Mount Nlonako, and the Rumpi Hills. At Mwakoumel on Mount Manengouba, it co-exists with C. pulchra and C. melanogaster. Using its range as a proxy, the extent of occurrence (EOO) is estimated to be 426 km² based on availability of appropriate habitat. It is unknown whether this species is likely to occur more widely.
Habitat and Ecology
It lives in montane forests and gallery forests near fast-flowing streams in hilly country with high rainfall. It can survive in degraded, secondary habitat provided it is close to more mature forest. It breeds in streams.
The species is largely unknown and there is no quantitative information on its current population status. On Mount Manengouba, it was last seen in 2012, but is very rare there (M. Hirschfeld pers. comm. June 2012). As with other high-elevation amphibians endemic to West and Central Africa, its population is considered to be severely fragmented. The rationale for the severe fragmentation is that the species' dispersal ability is considered to be very limited; its habitat is being gradually fragmented by human activities and these fragments are separated by large extents of unsuitable habitat (further restricting its dispersal ability); and over half the population is estimated to occur in fragmented habitat patches.
It may occur in the Rumpi Hills Forest Reserve, but this reserve is not well managed for biodiversity conservation. The protected area network in western Cameroon urgently needs to be expanded to include the remaining montane forest habitats, particularly those on Mount Manengouba, which has been proposed as a protected area (N. Gonwouo pers. comm. May 2012). On Mount Manengouba, the harvesting of Prunus africanus should be sustainably managed, including education of the local people (N. Gonwouo pers. comm. May 2012). More information is needed on this species' distribution, population status, natural history and the potential impact of climate change.
IUCN SSC Amphibian Specialist Group, 2015. Cardioglossa venusta. In: IUCN 2014