Golden Toad

The golden toad (Bufo periglenes) was a small, shiny, bright toad, only 5 centimeters long on average for an adult specimen. Unfortunately the species is now extinct, but it was once abundant in a small region of high-altitude tropical forests, about 30 square kilometers in area, above the city of Monteverde, Costa Rica. Its sudden extinction in the late 1980s might have been caused by a parasite, called chytrid fungus, as well as extensive habitat loss.

This photo of a male golden toad was taken by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.