Found in high altitudes of Monteverde, Costa Rica, the Golden Toad was a “true toad” that exhibited striking sexual dimorphism. The male was an “enamel paint” golden orange and the female an olive with red spots circled by yellow. They bred on a single ridge called Brilliant, mating for five to ten days in the springtime near tree roots where males would gather to wait for prospective lady frogs.

Once found in droves within a small the 4 square kilometres region of Monteverde, the Golden Toad vanished without so much as a trace in only a few years time. A species that once coated the banks of streams so much so that researchers complained of nearly stepping on them as they trekked through the forest, evaporated with little explanation.

A deadly fungi known as Chytridiomycosis may have been a major culprit in their sudden decline. The fungi causes the skin of amphibians to thicken and alter the way they absorb water and minerals through their skins. This fungi was seen across the world, demolishing amphibian populations in pockets quickly and quietly. The Golden Toad, however, may have been the victim of the perfect storm of both this fungi, an unusually warm season, and some airborne pollution in their otherwise pristine forest home.

They have gone on, despite their disappearance, to be something of a poster child for the rapid extinction and endangerment of many frog and toad species.
Extinction Date According to the IUCN Red List: 1989