Extinct frog makes a comeback
November 2013: According to a paper published in Amphibia-Reptilia, a critically endangered harlequin toad believed to be extinct has been found breeding in a tract of highland forest in Costa Rica. Atelopus varius, known as the ‘Halloween frog’ because of its striking orange and black markings, was once quite common from central Costa Rica to western Panama. However, the population began to collapse from the 1980s onwards – probably caused by the spread of the deadly chytrid fungus that has killed off many amphibians around the world.
Considered extinct by 1996, there was a brief flicker of hope for the Halloween frog in 2004, when a population was discovered in south western Costa Rica. However, subsequent studies failed to find any more. This time around, researchers have uncovered a significant population on a private reserve within the wider La Amistad Biosphere Reserve, located near the border with Panama. The authors of the paper, led by Jose F. Gonzalez-Maya of the Sierra to Sea Institute & ProCAT International in Mexico and the Universidad Nacional Autonoma de Mexico, believe the find offers fresh hope for other species presumed to be extinct in Costa Rica.
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