Common Name: Cuchumatan Golden Toad
Scientific Name: Incilius aurarius
Family: Bufonidae – True Toad family
Locations: Guatemala and Mexico
Female Size: 2 – 3.1 inches (53.1 – 79.5 mm)
Male Size: 2.1 – 2.6 inches (54.5 – 67.5 mm)
The Cuchumatan Golden Toad lives in the cloud forests on the border of Guatemala and Mexico. The toad gets its named from the golden-yellow color the male toads. The species epiphet aurarius means golden in Latin. They hide amongst the leaf litter on the ground or under branches and logs. The toad was origianlly thought to be a subspecies of the Southern Gulf Coast Toad (Incilius valliceps) but was moved up to its own species in 2012.
Not much is known about the Cuchumatan Golden Toad. They breed during the dry season. The eggs are laid in streams and rivers.
The International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List categorizes the toad as Endangered. They live only in a small forest area that is threatened by the conversion of forest to agricultural land. The toad luckily lives in the Lagos de Montebello National Park in Mexico, where it is somewhat protected. However, there are no protected areas for the toad in Guatemala.