Golden Toad Facts
On this page of recently extinct animal facts, you will read interesting information about the Golden Toad. If you were a kid growing up in Costa Rica in the 1970s, you may have very well come across a Golden Toad. Unfortunately, anyone who was born after 1989 will never see a live Golden Toad since the last one was seen alive in that year. The differences between males and females was only apparent when Golden Toads reached maturity. What distinguished the males was a bright vivid skin color, where the females were more of an earthen tone with distinct spots. Possible reasons why they became extinct and other interesting facts about this species are in the list below.Golden Toad General Facts
- The Golden Toad was found only in Northern Costa Rica, specifically in the Monteverde Cloud Forest Preserve, a national preserve, in an area encompassing just 6.2 square miles (10 square Kilometers).
- The Golden Toad is also known by several other names including the Monteverde Golden Toad, Monte Verde Toad, Orange Toad, and Alajuela Toad.
- These animals were mainly carnivores that ate small insects.
- Experts believe that they become extinct due to several factors including deforestation, climate change, pollution and ultraviolet radiation. They believe the warmer environment may have caused them to contract a deadly skin fungus in the 1970s called chytrid fungi.
- It is believed that the Golden Toad spent most of the year underground but due to the lack of research conducted on this animal not a lot is known about its behavior.
- While still tadpoles, they were very susceptible to the weather. While too much rain would wash them away, too little rain would dry up their water sources.
Golden Toad Breeding Facts
- The Golden Toads would breed during the rainy season when pools of water accumulated.
- The males would gather around concentrations of water, and wait for the females to come. When they came, it was survival of the fittest for the males.
- Anywhere from 200-400 Golden Toad eggs were laid in pools of water and hatching took place about two months later.
- The size of the Golden Toad's eggs were relatively large with the average size about three millimeters (.12 inches).
- The Golden Toad tadpoles would remain in the pools of water undergoing metamorphosis for up to five weeks before they became toads.
- Some years, the ration of males to females would be as much as 10 to 1. This would leave many males without a mate.
Golden Toad Descriptive Facts
- The Golden Toad was a mere 2 inches (five centimeters) long.
- The skin of the Golden Toad was so shiny and bright that the herpetologist who first encountered them, Jay Savage, thought they must have been dipped in paint.
- The Golden Toad is classified as an amphibian. It spends half its time in the water and the other half on land.
- The Golden Toad is cold-blooded, meaning it keeps the same body temperature as its environment.
EXTINCT ANIMALS FACTS