Golden Toad (Bufo periglenes)

Extinction - See:

• 'The Extinction of the Golden Toad - Symptom of a Worldwide Crisis'
   at Miami University

The golden toad was one of more than 500 species in the family Bufonidae — the "true toads". B. periglenes inhabited northern Costa Rica’sMonteverde Cloud Forest Preserve, distributed over an area of roughly 10 square kilometres (3.9 sq mi) at an average elevation of 1.5 kilometres (0.93 mi)

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The golden toad (Bufo periglenes) was a small, shiny, bright true toad that was once abundant in a small region of high-altitude cloud-covered tropical forests, about 30 square kilometers in area, above the city of Monteverde, Costa Rica. For this reason, it is sometimes also called the Monteverde golden toad, or the Monte Verde toad. Other common English names include Alajuela toad and orange toad. They were first described in 1966 by the herpetologist Jay Savage.[2] Since May 15, 1989, not a single B. periglenes is reported to have been seen anywhere in the world, and it is classified by the IUCN as an extinct species.


Its sudden extinction is cited as part of the decline in amphibian populations, which may be attributable to a fungal epidemic specific to amphibians or other factors, combined or acting independently.







Source:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Golden_toad