C is for Chiriqui Harlequin Frog

Chiriqui Harlequin Frog
Atelopus chiriquiensis

Where it lived: streams in the lower montane wet forests and rainforests of central Costa Rica and Panama

Last seen in: 1996

Declared extinct by IUCN in: 2020

Extinction causes:

  • disease spread by the fungus Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis

  • climate change

  • invasive predatory trout

The colorful Chiriqui harlequin frog is one of many amphibian species affected by the disease chytridiomycosis. About 501 frog and salamander species around the world face reduced populations or extinction due to the disease—a big factor contributing to global declines in amphibians since the 1980s. Multiple studies link the spread of chytridiomycosis to climate change, making the Chiriqui harlequin frog another tragic victim of the crisis.

 

“Climate change seems to be helping the spread of the fungus and creating the right conditions for the disease to flourish, and that then is wiping out the frog populations.” —Craig Hilton-Taylor, IUCN