| Incilius
holdridgei
|
HOME |
| |
| Kingdom |
Animalia |
Photo
© Wayne Van Devender. This
photo has been taken
from the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species' Photo
Gallery. This photograph may be freely used for any non-commercial
purpose, but please credit the respective photographer. For commercial
use, please contact the photographers directly.
|
| Phylum |
Chordata |
| Class |
Amphibia |
| Order |
Anura
|
| Family |
Bufonidae
|
| Genus |
Incilius |
| Species |
Incilius holdridgei |
| Authority |
(Taylor, 1952) |
| |
| English
Name |
Holdridge's Toad |
| Dutch
Name |
Holdridge Pad |
| French
Name |
Crapaud de Holdridge |
| German
Name |
Holdridge-Kröte |
| Italian Name |
Rospo di Holdridge |
| Spanish Name |
Sapo de Holdridge |
| |
| Synonyms |
Bufo
holdridgei; Cranopsis holdridgei; Ollotis holdridgei |
| |
| Characteristics |
The
Holdridge’s toad was a small (5 cm in length), deaf and mute toad with a
rugged, bumpy skin. It had bright orange and black markings. (Eco
Preservation Society, 2008; Raub, 2008) |
| |
| Reproduction |
The
Holdridge’s toad was an explosive breeder that laid its eggs in forest
floor pools, as well as in man-made drainage ditches (Savage 2002; Bolaños
& Chaves, 2004). |
| |
| Range
& Habitat |
 The
Holdridge’s toad occurred on the Volcán Barva, Cordillera Central,
Costa Rica, at 200-2,200 m above mean sea level. This fossorial species
lived in lower montane rainforest and could be found under surface debris
within the forest during periods of heavy rain, but during dry periods it
concentrated on mossy stream banks (Savage 2002; Bolaños & Chaves,
2004).
Image:
right hand map with Costa Rica marked red and the location of the
Holdridge's Toad's distribution range marked with a red circle. This
image has been released under
the Creative
Commons Attribution ShareAlike 3.0 Licence.
|
| |
| History
& Population |
The
Holdridge’s toad was formerly common in appropriate habitat and during
the breeding season at the onset of the rainy season. A number of 2,765
males were seen visiting two pools in an eight-day period (Novak
& Robinson, 1975). As of
August 2007, it has not been seen since 1986 despite repeated searching
(seven consecutive years of intensive searching to 2007) throughout its
range, and it since 2008 it is officially considered to be extinct by the IUCN
Red List of Threatened Species. (Bolaños & Chaves,
2004) |
| |
| Extinction
Causes |
Although
not proven, the main cause of the population decline and extinction is
likely to be chytridiomycosis perhaps in synergy with the effects of
climate change (Bolaños & Chaves, 2004). Chytridiomycosis is an infectious disease of amphibians, caused by the chytrid
Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis, a non-hyphal zoosporic fungus. Chytridiomycosis has been linked to dramatic population declines or even extinctions of amphibian species in western North America, Central America, South America, and eastern Australia. The fungus is capable of causing sporadic deaths in some amphibian populations and 100% mortality in others. There is no effective measure for control of the disease in wild populations. The disease is contributing to a worldwide decline in amphibian populations, a worldwide decline of species that apparently has affected 30% of the amphibian species of the world.
(Stuart et al., 2004; Wikipedia
contributors, 2008)
|
| |
| Conservation
Attempts |
The
Holdridge’s toad entire known range is protected in Parque Nacional
Braulio Carrillo, 20 km north-east of the capital of San José, Costa Rica.
(Bolaños & Chaves, 2004) |
| |
| Museum
Specimens |
Do
you know any museum specimens? Please contact
us. |
| |
| Relatives |
Golden
toad - Incilius periglenes (Savage, 1967)
Pico
Blanco Toad - Incilius fastidiosus (Cope, 1875)
|
| |
| Links |
Holdridge's Toad - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
|
| |
|
References
(Complete
website)
|
Bolaños,
F. & Chaves, G. 2004. Incilius holdridgei. In: IUCN 2008. 2008
IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. <www.iucnredlist.org>.
Downloaded on 04 December 2008.
Eco Preservation Society. 2008. Costa
Rica’s Holdridge Toad Declared Extinct. Eco Preservation
Society Blog (16 October 2008). Downloaded on
04 December 2008.
Raub, E. 2008. Scientists
Declare Costa Rica’s Holdridge Toad Extinct. Costa Rica News on Travel & Living in Costa Rica
(7 October 2008). Costa Rica News on Travel & Living in Costa Rica
Novak, R.M. and Robinson, D.C.
1975. Observations on the reproduction and ecology of the tropical montane
toad, Bufo holdrigei Taylor in Costa Rica. Revista de Biologia Tropical
23: 213-237.
Savage, J.M. 2002. The Amphibians and Reptiles of Costa Rica: A
Herpetofauna between two Continents, between two Seas. University of
Chicago Press, Chicago, Illinois.
Stuart, S.N., Chanson, J.S., Cox,
N.A., Young, B.E., Rodrigues, A.S.L., Fischman, D.L. and Waller, R.W.
2004. Status and Trends of Amphibian Declines and Extinctions Worldwide,
Science, 306:1783-1786.
Wikipedia contributors, 2008, 'Chytridiomycosis',
Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia, 2 December 2008, 23:52 UTC, <http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Chytridiomycosis&oldid=255526604>
[accessed 4 December 2008]
|
|
Last
updated: 30th December 2008.
This
page is a part of The
Extinction Website.
© 2000-2009. |