GOLDEN TOAD(Sapo Dorado)
THE DISAPPEARANCE OF THE SAPO DORADO
True to its name, the male golden toad was a
flaming golden orange. The larger (about two inches from nose
to rear) female, ranging in color from dark olive to black, was
dappled with bright red splotches edged in yellow. An endemic
species that is supposedly both deaf and dumb. It may already
be extinct. Although in 1986 it could be seen in large quantities
in the Monteverde Cloud Forest Preserve, Costa Rica. By 1988 very
few remained. There has been no confirmed sightings of the golden
toad since then.
Little is known about the feeding habits of
these secretive frogs, which hid underground except during the
short breeding season. Because of their small size, golden toads
probably fed on small invertebrates. Golden toads gathered at
shallow pools that formed during the spring rainy season. Males
outnumbered females by as much as eight to one, so males mated
with almost anything that moved, including other pairs locked
together in the mating embrace. Four to ten males sometimes clung
to each other, forming what’s called a toad ball. Females
laid a string of 200 to 400 eggs; it took five weeks for the tadpoles
to develop into tiny toads.
Much
of the information on our site as it relates to Costa Rica is:
 Courtesy
of Christopher P. Baker and Avalon Travel Publishing.
© 2004 Christopher P. Baker. All Rights Reserved.
Spanish Abroad, Inc. highly
recommends Christopher P. Baker's book: Moon
Handbooks Costa Rica. Click on the image to visit
his website where you can purchase this book or find out more
about the author.
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