# Golden toads - death by chytrid?



## npaull (May 8, 2005)

Just a quick question, occurred to me randomly:

Is it thought that it was chytrid that caused the extinction of golden toads (Bufo periglenes)? What's the status of these guys (ie am I even right that they are confirmed extinct?)

-NP


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## Ed (Sep 19, 2004)

At this time they are considered extinct as no specimens have been located for a number of years now (although there are still some skeptics who maintain that they are probably estivating underground). 

I haven't seen any conclusive proof that chytrid was to blame (although it fits the chytrid pattern) mainly due to a lack of samples at that time allowing for a diagnosis (as I remember it). 
The last I checked, the other major alternative theory was that pesticides got suspended into the clouds and poisioned the anurans in the region (rememeber Atelopus disappeared from the region at the same time). 

I personally favor chytrid. 

Ed


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## npaull (May 8, 2005)

Thanks Ed.


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## Rain_Frog (Apr 27, 2004)

Doesn't Bufo periglenes inhabit the same cloud forests as atelopus? That, plus its limited range is another reason why I'd blame chytrid.

However, since they were so newly discovered, they *might still exist, but I have my doubts.


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## Ed (Sep 19, 2004)

It did hence my comment snip "(rememeber Atelopus disappeared from the region at the same time). "endsnip

As they were described back in 1966 I wouldn't call them that newly discovered... (see Savage, Jay M. (1966): An extraordinary new toad from Costa Rica. Revista de Biología Tropical 14: 153–167. ). 

The IUCN now considers them extinct due to the length of time since the last known specimens were seen (1991). (see Pounds & Savage (2004). Bufo periglenes. 2006 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species.)

Ed


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## Rain_Frog (Apr 27, 2004)

_It did hence my comment snip "(rememeber Atelopus disappeared from the region at the same time). "endsnip _

Whoops, didn't see that. Sorry. lol :lol:


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## Ed (Sep 19, 2004)

Don't worry about it.. I was being flippant..

Ed


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## Devin Edmonds (Mar 2, 2004)

NP - If you're interested, Marty Crump's book "In Search of the Golden Frog" is a good read. She writes as though it's a journal, and about her research with the species, basically just stories about her life and work in the field. definitely worth checking out.


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## MonarchzMan (Oct 23, 2006)

This is a topic I've studied extensively through my college career.

There are a number of theories regarding the disappearance of the Golden Toad. The leading theory is that there was an El Niño event then that made the area "drier." The clouds receded in the cloud forest, reducing the moisture in the area, and probably stressing out the toads. Chytrid was also considered as there are records of it being in the area at the time of the decline of the toad, but no specimens have been collected that have chytrid, so it's ruled out for now.

A species isn't officially extinct until is hasn't been seen for fifty years, I believe. Most are saying that the golden toad is extinct, but you'll quickly find that the Costa Rican people hold onto hope that they'll turn up some day. If you get any sort of herp field guide, it will include the Golden Toad. Some are hoping that the toads are hiding until conditions are favorable again. These toads spent a majority of the year underground until they came out en masse to breed, which is why they were only discovered 50 years ago (well, that and their small range). It's possible that they could return, but each passing year makes it look more and more dismal for the toad. It's really a sad story and one that I am very interested in learning about.


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## Ed (Sep 19, 2004)

There is a swing away from the El Nino theory due to the fact that El Nino events have been occuring for a long long time are not a novel effect. This along with the pesticide theories were the top contenders for the cause of deaths about 12 years ago. 

The extinction still fits the pattern of die offs from chytrid and death from chytrid could just as readily have occured while the toads were underground which would have prevented the observation of the masses of dead animals that are seen in outbreaks elsewhere. 

The time line to declare a species extinct is not a set time line but a fluid one that is partly dependent on the species in question hence the reference to the citation listing them extinct. 

Ed


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## bbrock (May 20, 2004)

Ed said:


> The time line to declare a species extinct is not a set time line but a fluid one that is partly dependent on the species in question hence the reference to the citation listing them extinct.
> 
> Ed


Case in point is the ivory-billed woodpecker which made it at least into the late 1980's (more than 50 years since its last confirmed sighting) as only "presumed extinct". To my knowledge it was never officially listed but I lost track after the 1980's. The problem with declaring the bird extinct was that semi-credible, but unconfirmed, evidence for its existence had consistently appeared in every decade since its last confirmed sighting. This evidence included 2 photographs (which were declared frauds by some experts and authentic by others) and a feather (which some claimed was from a museum specimen) as well as several tantalizing observation accounts. Although things looked really grim, the evidence didn't quite allow the coffin lid to be nailed shut. With all the recent hubub surrounding IBWO, their existence or extinction is now more controversial than ever.


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