Common Name: Elegant Stubfoot Toad or Elegant Harlequin Frog
Scientific Name: Atelopus elegans
Family: Bufonidae – True Toad family
Location: Colombia and Ecuador
Female Size: 1.29 – 1.41 inches (33 – 36 mm)
Male Size: 0.86 – 0.94 inches (22 – 24 mm)
The Elegant Stubfoot Toad lives in the humid, tropical rain forests. Not too much is known about the toad since its so endangered. What is known is that is some basics about its mating ritual which seems pretty standard. The male toads call out to attract the female toad. Once the female toad arrives, the male toad grasps her from behind in amplexus. Then, the female lays her eggs in a water source and the male toad fertilizes. No parental care has been observed.
The International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List assesses the Elegant Stubfoot Toad as Endangered with Extinction. The toad is only found in two small areas now due to habitat destruction. People are cutting down the forests the toads call home to make room for farms, towns, or mines.
Luckily, the toads do live in a few protected areas such as the Reserva Mayronga in Ecuador and Parque Nacional Natural Gorgona in Colombia. Additionally, some wild toads have been moved to captivity to protect them.