The Panamanian golden frog or Atelopus zeteki is a rare species of toad endemic to Panama. It is found along the slopes of the Cordilleran cloud forests of west-central Panama. The toads have yellow-green to bright gold skin with black spots on the back and legs. The female frogs re usually larger than the male frogs. The size of the female ranges from, 45-63mm in length and 4-15g in weight .Whereas, the size of the male varies from 35-48mm in length and 3-12 gm in weight. The life span of a golden frog is 12 years. This toad is unusual in that it communicates by the form of semaphore, waiving at rivals and prospective mates. This behavior is a sort of sign language, they have evolved to it for two reasons; 1) they live next to free flowing streams which always create a very loud noise, 2) they are “earless creatures” , they lack the tympana thus cannot hear. The male usually hovers …show more content…
The species was last filmed in the wild in the year 2006, in the film Life in Cold Blood by David Attenborough. The remaining species were taken into captivity as the fugal infection was rapidly depleting the zeteki population. The location for the filming was not disclosed to prevent further poaching. The other reasons for the depletion of the Panamanic frog are habit destruction due to human interference, trees cleared for housing and Urbanization , encroachment of land for agriculture, pollution and international pet trade. Even though captive population seems to thrive well thet still cannot be reintroduced into their natural habitat.
In order to save this rare species of amphibian the Project Golden Frog was started. It was an endeavor by scientific, educational and zoological institutions in the Republic of Panama and the United states of America. The intended outcomes of the project include:
1) Increasing awareness among the masses about conservation of the