#harlequin toad

[herpsandbirds]

Panama’s golden frogs beat extinction

The amphibians are returning to the wild 17 years after a deadly fungus nearly wiped them out.

It’s been 17 years since the bright yellow Panamanian golden frog (Atelopus zeteki) hopped through its native habitat. But after nearly two decades of hard work, conservationists are finally reintroducing a new generation of the tiny fluorescent amphibians back into the tropical island’s ecosystem. It wasn’t that long ago that golden frogs were staring down almost certain extinction. The saga began in the late 1980s, when an invasive fungus called Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis (Bd) arrived in lower Central America. Soon, Bd spores spread throughout Panama. The fungal spores had no difficulty traveling through water—and because golden frogs only live close to streams, they soon encountered the fungus themselves...

Read more: https://www.popsci.com/environment/golden-frogs-beat-extinction-panama/

[hometoursandotherstuff]

https://a-z-animals.com/articles/the-purple-toad-that-doesnt-even-look-real/

[typhlonectes]

A new species of harlequin toad (Bufonidae: Atelopus) from Amazonian Ecuador

Plewnia, Amadeus Terán-Valdez, Andrea Culebras, Jaime Boistel, Renaud Paluh, Daniel J. Quezada Riera, Amanda B. Heine, Christopher H. Reyes-Puig, Juan P. Salazar-Valenzuela, David Guayasamin, Juan M. Lötters, Stefan

ABSTRACT

For nearly four decades, harlequin toads, genus Atelopus, have suffered unparalleled population declines. While this also results in limited understanding of alphataxonomic relationships, these toads face an urgent need for advances in systematics to inform conserva­tion efforts. However, high intraspecific variation and cryptic diversity have hindered a comprehensive understanding of Atelopus diversity. This is particularly exemplified among Amazonian populations related to A. spumarius, where decades of taxonomic work have not been able yet to unravel relationships between the many forms, while the names coined so far have led to taxonomic confusion leaving numer­ous lineages unnamed. A recent comprehensive phylogenetic study has revealed new insights into the systematics of harlequin toads with an emphasis on Amazonian forms, identifying several unnamed lineages. We here describe one of these evolutionary lineages as a new species, restricted to the Ecuadorian Amazon basin, in an integrative taxonomic approach using molecular, morphological, bioacoustic and larval information. With this, we contribute to a better understanding of Atelopus diversity as the baseline of conservation action.

Read the paper here:

A new species of harlequin toad (Bufonidae: Atelopus) from Amazonian Ecuador

[geekysteven]

The harlequin toad looks like it's been subjected to the corrupting effects of forbidden magicks

[Image description A purple harlequin toad with light purple streaks on its skin]

Photo credit: Nick Stacey from Indicator Species

[its-a-beautful-day]

Hoppy Pride! I saw that @amphibianaday was hosting a Pride Parade and it perfectly lined up with @anivoice birthday so

Happy early birthday gift to my favorite frog 🎂💖

[citrus-seed]

Manny the Harlequin Toad! Been meaning to try my hand at making a scalie fella, so here's a frog :3

[savethewailes]

Slugs! Salamanders! Lizards! Bees! Bugs! Birds! Frogs! New buddies hopping and wriggling into the shop.

eattoast - Etsy

Shop Fine arts and toys! by eattoast located in Taneytown, Maryland. Smooth shipping! Has a history of shipping on time with tracking. Speed

[toadschooled]

Tiny juvenile specimens of Guajira stubfoot toads [Atelopus carrikeri]. This species is endemic to the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta mountain range in northern Colombia. They are critically endangered due to habitat loss and the spread of the chytrid fungus Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis. Once thought to be extinct, this toad was rediscovered after 14 years by a Project Atelopus team in early 2008. The individuals above were photographed by Jay McGowan.