View original imageThis is an original generative reconstruction, not a photograph or scientific plate.
118 / Recently extinct
Golden Toad
Incilius periglenes
Brilliant orange males gathered briefly each rainy season within a tiny highland range.
Structured expansion · editorial review pending
- Time range
- Prehistory–1989
- Final stage
- 20th century
- Geographic range
- Monteverde cloud forest, Costa Rica
01 / ANSWER FIRST
What was Golden Toad?
This archive records Golden Toad under the scientific name Incilius periglenes, with an age of Prehistory–1989 and a range of Monteverde cloud forest, Costa Rica. Brilliant orange males gathered briefly each rainy season within a tiny highland range.
Golden toads occupied only a few square kilometers. Breeding pools dried dramatically in 1987, and repeated searches found none after the last sighting in 1989.
02 / QUICK FACTS
Golden Toad at a glance
- Scientific name
- Incilius periglenes
- Age
- Prehistory–1989
- Last recorded stage
- 20th century
- Known range
- Monteverde cloud forest, Costa Rica
- Broad group
- amphibian or stem tetrapod
- Archive era
- Recently extinct
- Habitat signals
- Forest
- Documented regions
- Monteverde cloud forest, Costa Rica
03 / ANATOMY
How was Golden Toad built?
Overall body plan
Brilliant orange males gathered briefly each rainy season within a tiny highland range.
Limbs, girdles and vertebral column
The available record is interpreted through preserved proportions, attachment surfaces, wear and comparison with related organisms. For Golden Toad, those observations must be separated from features added only for visual reconstruction.
Skull and aquatic adaptations
Golden toads occupied only a few square kilometers. Breeding pools dried dramatically in 1987, and repeated searches found none after the last sighting in 1989.
Growth and individual variation
A single specimen does not define the whole species. Size, maturity, preservation and possible sex differences are considered before anatomical traits are treated as typical of Golden Toad.
04 / DIET & BEHAVIOUR
How did Golden Toad live?
Golden toads occupied only a few square kilometers. Breeding pools dried dramatically in 1987, and repeated searches found none after the last sighting in 1989. This ecological reconstruction is strongest where anatomy, associated organisms and the depositional setting point in the same direction.
05 / DIET & BEHAVIOUR
What shaped its ecological limits?
Its populations depended on freshwater, wet ground, seasonal climate and shoreline vegetation. Changes in any one factor did not necessarily cause immediate extinction, but interacting pressures could reduce range, recruitment and resilience.
06 / RANGE & HABITAT
Where and when did Golden Toad live?
This archive currently lists Prehistory–1989; Monteverde cloud forest, Costa Rica. Fossil or historical occurrence data describe where evidence has been found, not every place the taxon once occupied. Species-level age and range limits still require source-specific review.
Documented geographic range
Monteverde cloud forest, Costa Rica. This boundary can change when specimens are reidentified or new localities are published.
Time window
Prehistory–1989, with the final recorded stage listed as 20th century. Rock units and dating uncertainty mean the true biological range may extend beyond the known record.
Environmental setting
The archive uses the broad habitat labels Forest. These labels help explore related records; a habitat reconstruction requires evidence from individual localities.
07 / FOSSIL EVIDENCE
What evidence supports reconstructions of Golden Toad?
Primary record
Population counts, photographs, climate records, specimens and disease research chart the decline.
Comparative anatomy
Preserved structures are compared with close and functionally similar organisms. The method can constrain posture and function, but analogy alone cannot prove colour, behaviour or soft tissue.
Age and locality
Stratigraphy and occurrence records place Golden Toad within Prehistory–1989 and Monteverde cloud forest, Costa Rica. Reworked fossils and uncertain provenance are treated cautiously.
Open entity records
Links below connect the archive to available taxonomic and occurrence records. A matching name does not verify every ecological claim, and related-taxon links provide comparison rather than an exact species match.
08 / DISAPPEARANCE & DEBATE
Why did Golden Toad disappear?
Extreme drought and climate variability likely initiated collapse, while chytrid fungus may have intensified it.
The last fossil or observation marks the youngest evidence currently known, not necessarily the death of the final individual. Explanations are strongest when timing, environmental change and population biology agree; otherwise the profile preserves uncertainty instead of assigning a single dramatic cause.
09 / FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
Golden Toad FAQ
What was Golden Toad?
This archive records Golden Toad under the scientific name Incilius periglenes, with an age of Prehistory–1989. Brilliant orange males gathered briefly each rainy season within a tiny highland range.
When did Golden Toad live?
The current archive range is Prehistory–1989; its youngest recorded stage is 20th century.
Where was Golden Toad found?
The archive currently lists Monteverde cloud forest, Costa Rica. Species-level locality assignments and the full geographic range still require source-specific review.
How do scientists know about Golden Toad?
Population counts, photographs, climate records, specimens and disease research chart the decline.
04 / SOURCES & FURTHER READING
Check the source record
Use the scientific name to compare taxonomy, occurrence records and the fossil record. Database coverage and classifications may differ.
05 / REVISION HISTORY
How has this record changed?
- Completed an AI-assisted bilingual audit of the archive record, corrected identified issues and clarified evidence limits; independent editorial review is pending.
- Expanded into a structured bilingual profile with anatomy, ecology, range, evidence, debate and FAQs; independent editorial review is pending.
- Verified authoritative entity sources and added three responsive reconstruction sizes.
- Initial bilingual species record published.
06 / CORRECTIONS & ADDITIONS