Who said toads were ugly? If ever one of these much-maligned amphibians was destined to become a prince, then surely one of the stubfoots (or harlequins) from the genus Atelopus of South and Central America could be it, says Stuart Blackman.
These startling creatures are every bit as eye-catching as the region’s more celebrated poison dart frogs – and there’s not a wart in sight.
New stubfoots turn up regularly (the striking pink and black Nassau harlequin toad was discovered in 2006, in the forested highlands of Suriname), though it is feared that several species have been wiped out in recent years by epidemics of fungal infections, and could be threatened by gold mining.
- Toad vs frog: How to tell the difference between a common frog and a common toad
- It’s one of the most destructive and deadly animals on earth – meet the highly toxic ‘toadzilla’
- Meet the strange Surinam toad, an alien-like South American frog whose live young burst out through holes in its back
Top image: Limosa harlequin frog from Panama. Although it is called a frog it is s an endangered species of toad
