[Animals] Two individuals of Harlequin toad found in Bolivia after 17 years

[[M]anuel]

 

 

Several organizations joined in a project to protect the Tricolor Harlequin toad or Atelopus tricolor that was thought to be extinct in Bolivia, but after 17 years they found two individuals of this species.

 

This small toad, characteristic for its striking colors, was photographed in 2020 in the Los Yungas region of La Paz to the amazement of experts, since there had not been a new record of this species since 2003, the president of Bolivian told Efe. Amphibian Initiative, Patricia Mendoza.

 

After 17 years of believing that this species was extinct in the country presumably due to the chytrid fungus that "attacks" amphibian po[CENSORED]tions, several experts and organizations joined in a project to conserve and evaluate the po[CENSORED]tion status of the Atelopus. tricolor.

 

 

Locate the specimens

The first phase consisted of going to the place where the two male specimens were photographed to confirm whether it is this species and then evaluate its distribution and identify the factors that threaten it.

 

To do this, he made a series of trips in which they found more specimens of this type of toads, characterized by the yellow, black and red colors of their body that can measure between 23 to 34 millimeters depending on whether it is male or female, described the herpetologist Mendoza .