Golden mantella (Mantella aurantiaca).
Image: Paul Albertella from Manchester, UK, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
At a glance
- IUCN category
- CR · Critically Endangered
- Animal group
- Reptiles & Amphibians
- Population trend
- Decreasing
- Last verified
Conservation overview
The golden mantella is a tiny, brilliant orange frog found only in Madagascar. It is assessed as Critically Endangered.
Its bright colour warns of toxins in its skin, like the unrelated poison frogs of the Americas.
Range & habitat
A small area of central-eastern Madagascar.
Major threats
Threats below are drawn from the authoritative sources listed on this page. For the current, complete assessment, see the IUCN Red List.
- Loss of its specialised breeding wetlands
- Habitat degradation
- Past collection
Why it matters
A jewel-like amphibian with a tiny range, the golden mantella is a flagship for Madagascar's threatened wetlands and a focus of captive-breeding insurance programmes.
Sources
Sources for Golden Mantella
- IUCN Red List — look up Golden Mantella (authoritative status)
- AmphibiaWeb (UC Berkeley)
Frequently Asked Questions
Is the golden mantella related to poison dart frogs?
No — it is a Madagascan frog, not a relative of the American poison frogs, but it has evolved similar bright warning colours and skin toxins (an example of convergence).
Why is the golden mantella Critically Endangered?
Published assessments cite the loss and degradation of its specialised breeding wetlands within a very small range. See the IUCN Red List.
Last updated: