Guest post by David Middleton

It’s at least 67% among the Incilius genus of toads.

Frog not sighted in 30 years and declared extinct reappears in Costa Rica

SAN JOSE –  Costa Rican scientists reported Tuesday the reappearance of an endemic frog species that had not been sighted for three decades.

It was declared extinct in 2004 iby the International Union for Conservation of Nature (UICN).

The Heredia robber frog, whose scientific name is Craugastor escoces, was spotted by Costa Rican biologists Gilbert Alvarado and Randall Jimenez in the Juan Castro Blanco National Park in Alajuela province.

[…]

This species had not been observed since 1986. In 2004, the UICN declared this and two other amphibians extinct: the Holdridge’s toad, which is no longer in the extinct list either, and the Golden toad, which researchers believe to be the first victim of global warming.

[…]

Fox News

With a 67% recovery rate, the Golden toad stands a fairly good chance of also recovering from extinction.  Makes me think of this scene from The Princess Bride…

VIDEO

If the Golden toad reappears, will this disprove Gorebal Warming?  If so, would the Golden toad become the first amphibian to win a Nobel Prize?

There are 38 genera and at least 467 species of true toads (Bufonidae).  The still extinct Golden toad (Incilius periglenes) is was will be a member of the Incilius genus, which includes at least 39 extant species (40 when Goldy recovers).  The type species is Incilius periglenes (Evergreen toad).  It is not only extant, it isn’t even endangered, threatened or even near threatened.  It is rated as “least concern” as is at least 40% of the genus:

If a species’ habitat is restricted to zoos, farms, laboratories or backyards, it isn’t extinct.

Featured image source.