Common English Name: Veragua Stubfoot Toad and Rancho Grande Harlequin Frog
Local Name: Sapito Rayado
Scientific Name: Atelopus cruciger
Family: Bufonidae – True Toad family
Locations: Venezuela
Male Size: 1.1 – 1.3 inches (28.2–34.6 mm)
Female Size: 1.5 – 2 inches (39.5–49.9 mm)
The Veragua Stubfoot Toad is a member of the genus Atelopus, the Harlequin Frogs / Stubfoot Toads. The group is highly endangered but more of that in the conservation section. They are a diurnal species, active during the day.
The toads mate during the dry season, where they can be found on rocks and vegetation near fast moving streams. The male toads call out to attract the female toads. When the female toads arrive, the male toad grabs her from behind in the amplexus position. Then, the female toad carries the male toad over to the fast moving stream. Amplexus can last up to 19 days for the species.
Next, the female toad lays her eggs and the male toad fertilizes them. The female Veragua Stubfoot Toad lays between 150 – 270 eggs in several clutches. The eggs hatch into tadpoles that use their abdominal suckers to attach to rocks in the fast moving stream.
Conservation of the Veragua Stubfoot Toad
The International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List assesses the Veragua Stubfoot Toad as Critically Endangered with Extinction. The toads have disappeared from nearly all of its range. The culprit is Chytrid Fungus, a deadly fungal pathogen. Luckily, a few populations of the toad remain in some national parks and are surviving against the disease.