Panamanian golden frog (Atelopus zeteki); now likely surviving mainly in captivity.
Image: Brian Gratwicke from DC, USA, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
At a glance
- IUCN category
- CR · Critically Endangered
- Animal group
- Reptiles & Amphibians
- Population trend
- Decreasing
- FaunaHub record reviewed
- Checked against IUCN
- Matches source — IUCN's 2019 global assessment of Atelopus zeteki says Critically EndangeredChecked 2026-10-09 against IUCN's Red List export published 2026-07-28 · assessment
Conservation overview
The Panamanian golden frog is a bright yellow toad and a national symbol of Panama. It is assessed as Critically Endangered and may be extinct in the wild.
It communicates partly with a hand-waving 'semaphore' because of the noisy streams it lives near.
Range & habitat
Streams and forests of central Panama.
Major threats
Threats below are drawn from the authoritative sources listed on this page. For the current, complete assessment, see the IUCN Red List.
- The amphibian fungal disease chytridiomycosis
- Habitat loss
- Past collection
Why it matters
Devastated by amphibian chytrid disease, the Panamanian golden frog is an emblem of the global amphibian extinction crisis and now survives largely in captive 'ark' programmes.
Amphibian declines have been widely linked to the chytrid fungus alongside habitat loss.
Gallery
Panamanian golden frog (Atelopus zeteki).
Image: Brian Gratwicke, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
Sources
Sources for Panamanian Golden Frog
- IUCN Red List — look up Panamanian Golden Frog (authoritative status)
- AmphibiaWeb (UC Berkeley)