Amphibian Loss — Photo Gallery — National Geographic Magazine

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Vanishing Amphibians

Scientists race to save the vanishing amphibians from threats.

/2009/04/amphibian-loss/img/amphibian-01-714.jpg /2009/04/amphibian-loss/img/amphibian-60-01.jpg Photograph by Joel Sartore SURO STREAM FROG (Hyloscirtus pantostictus)
• Photographed: At Pontificia Universidad Católica del Ecuador
• Size: Up to 2.5 inches
• Location: South America
• Status: Endangered]]> http://pictopia.com/perl/ptp/natgeo?photo_name=1206385 /2009/04/amphibian-loss/img/amphibian-05-714.jpg /2009/04/amphibian-loss/img/amphibian-60-05.jpg Photograph by Joel Sartore BOREAL TOAD Anaxyrus (Bufo) boreas
• Photographed: At the Cheyenne Mountain Zoo, Colorado
• Size: Up to 5 inches
• Location: Western United States
• Status: Declining]]> http://pictopia.com/perl/ptp/natgeo?photo_name=1208423 /2009/04/amphibian-loss/img/amphibian-06-714.jpg /2009/04/amphibian-loss/img/amphibian-60-06.jpg Photograph by Joel Sartore COMMON FIRE SALAMANDER Salamandra salamandra
• Photographed: At the St. Louis Zoo, Missouri
• Size: Up to 10 inches
• Location: Europe
• Status: Declining]]> http://pictopia.com/perl/ptp/natgeo?photo_name=1208424 /2009/04/amphibian-loss/img/amphibian-12-714.jpg /2009/04/amphibian-loss/img/amphibian-60-12.jpg Photograph by Joel Sartore Oophaga sylvatica
• Photographed: At Pontificia Universidad Católica del Ecuador
• Size: Up to 1.5 inches
• Location: South America
• Status: Declining]]> http://pictopia.com/perl/ptp/natgeo?photo_name=1206384 /2009/04/amphibian-loss/img/amphibian-13-714.jpg /2009/04/amphibian-loss/img/amphibian-60-13.jpg Photograph by Joel Sartore PRISTIMANTIS SP.
• Photographed: At Reserva Las Gralarias, Ecuador
• Size: Up to 2 inches
• Location: Ecuador
• Status: Unknown]]> http://pictopia.com/perl/ptp/natgeo?photo_name=1206380 /2009/04/amphibian-loss/img/amphibian-14-714.jpg /2009/04/amphibian-loss/img/amphibian-60-14.jpg Photograph by Joel Sartore GOLDEN POISON FROG Phyllobates terribilis
• Photographed: At Rolling Hills Zoo, Salina, Kansas
• Size: Up to 2 inches
• Location: Colombia
• Status: Endangered]]> http://pictopia.com/perl/ptp/natgeo?photo_name=1096212 /2009/04/amphibian-loss/img/amphibian-15-714.jpg /2009/04/amphibian-loss/img/amphibian-60-15.jpg Photograph by Joel Sartore PACIFIC HORNED FROG Ceratophrys stolzmanni
• Photographed: At Pontificia Universidad Católica del Ecuador
• Size: Up to 3 inches
• Location: Ecuador and Peru
• Status: Vulnerable
In the wild, Pacific horned frogs breed explosively during good rains and burrow underground most other times. Conversion of scrub and sandy habitat for agriculture is reducing frog numbers, but now the species is reproducing in captivity for the first time.]]> http://pictopia.com/perl/ptp/natgeo?photo_name=1206382 /2009/04/amphibian-loss/img/amphibian-19-714.jpg /2009/04/amphibian-loss/img/amphibian-60-19.jpg Photograph by Joel Sartore ORNATE HORNED FROG Ceratophrys ornata
• Photographed: At the Tennessee Aquarium, Chattanooga
• Size: Up to 4 inches
• Location: Southern South America
• Status: Declining]]> http://pictopia.com/perl/ptp/natgeo?photo_name=1173635 /2009/04/amphibian-loss/img/amphibian-20-714.jpg /2009/04/amphibian-loss/img/amphibian-60-20.jpg Photograph by Joel Sartore REINWARDT'S TREE FROG Rhacophorus reinwardtii
• Photographed: At the Knoxville Zoo, Tennessee
• Size: Up to 2.5 inches
• Location: Asia
• Status: Declining]]> http://pictopia.com/perl/ptp/natgeo?photo_name=1101003 /2009/04/amphibian-loss/img/amphibian-21-714.jpg /2009/04/amphibian-loss/img/amphibian-60-21.jpg Photograph by Joel Sartore MARSUPIAL FROG Gastrotheca pseustes
• Photographed: At Pontificia Universidad Católica del Ecuador
• Size: Up to 2.5 inches
• Ecuador
• Status: Endangered]]> http://pictopia.com/perl/ptp/natgeo?photo_name=1206386 /2009/04/amphibian-loss/img/amphibian-22-714.jpg /2009/04/amphibian-loss/img/amphibian-60-22.jpg Photograph by Joel Sartore LEMUR LEAF FROGS Hylomantis lemur
• Photographed: At Zoo Atlanta, Georgia
• Size: Up to 2 inches
• Location: Central America
• Status: Critically Endangered]]> http://pictopia.com/perl/ptp/natgeo?photo_name=1172971 /2009/04/amphibian-loss/img/amphibian-23-714.jpg /2009/04/amphibian-loss/img/amphibian-60-23.jpg Photograph by Joel Sartore GREEN-AND-BLACK POISON FROG (Dendrobates auratus)
• Photographed: At the Toledo Zoo, Toledo, Ohio. This individual was collected in Panama.
• Size: Up to 1.5 inches
• Location: Native to Central America and Colombia, where they have long been used by local peoples as a source of poison for their weapons.
• Status: Captive animals have suffered from amphibian chytrid infection, but wild populations so far have not been afflicted. However, loss of tropical rain forest habitat threatens the frogs' long-term survival.]]> http://pictopia.com/perl/ptp/natgeo?photo_name=1208440 /2009/04/amphibian-loss/img/amphibian-24-714.jpg /2009/04/amphibian-loss/img/amphibian-60-24.jpg Photograph by Joel Sartore EASTERN HELLBENDER Cryptobranchus alleganiensis
• Photographed: At San Francisco State University, California
• Size: Up to 16 inches
• Location: United States
• Status: Declining]]> http://pictopia.com/perl/ptp/natgeo?photo_name=1206389 /2009/04/amphibian-loss/img/amphibian-25-714.jpg /2009/04/amphibian-loss/img/amphibian-60-25.jpg Photograph by Joel Sartore HARLEQUIN FROG (Atelopus varius)
• Photographed: At Omaha's Henry Doorly Zoo, Omaha, Nebraska
• Size: Up to 2.5 inches
• Location: Native to Costa Rica and Panama
• Status: This frog is critically endangered, in large part due to the amphibian chytrid fungus]]> http://pictopia.com/perl/ptp/natgeo?photo_name=1099181 /2009/04/amphibian-loss/img/amphibian-26-714.jpg /2009/04/amphibian-loss/img/amphibian-60-26.jpg Photograph by Joel Sartore BUDGETT'S FROG Lepidobatrachus laevis
• Photographed: At the National Aquarium, Baltimore, Maryland
• Size: Up to 4 inches
• Location: South America
• Status: Declining
Gaping defensively, a single Budgett's frog stands among many in the fight for amphibian survival. Researchers have ramped up the search for solutions, and each small victory breeds new hope.]]> http://pictopia.com/perl/ptp/natgeo?photo_name=1208422 /2009/04/amphibian-loss/img/amphibian-27-714.jpg /2009/04/amphibian-loss/img/amphibian-60-27.jpg Photograph by Joel Sartore CHACOAN HORNED FROG (Ceratophrys cranwelli)
• Photographed: At the Sedgwick County Zoo, Wichita, Kansas
• Size: Up to 5 inches
• Location: Native to South America
• Status: Populations are in decline in the southern portion of the species' range]]> http://pictopia.com/perl/ptp/natgeo?photo_name=1208441 /2009/04/amphibian-loss/img/amphibian-28-714.jpg /2009/04/amphibian-loss/img/amphibian-60-28.jpg Photograph by Joel Sartore AMARGOSA TOAD Anaxyrus (Bufo) nelsoni
• Photographed: In the wild near Beatty, Nevada
• Size: Up to 5 inches
• Location: Native to the western United States
• Status: The species is listed as endangered, with perhaps 25,000 animals]]> http://pictopia.com/perl/ptp/natgeo?photo_name=1208446 /2009/04/amphibian-loss/img/amphibian-29-714.jpg /2009/04/amphibian-loss/img/amphibian-60-29.jpg Photograph by Joel Sartore AFRICAN CLAWED FROG Xenopus borealis
• Photographed: At the Great Plains Zoo, Sioux Falls, South Dakota
• Size: Up to 4 inches
• Location: Native to central and southern Africa
• Status: This species may be the original carrier of the amphibian chytrid fungus. Populations appear to be increasing in parts of its range.]]> http://pictopia.com/perl/ptp/natgeo?photo_name=1096518 /2009/04/amphibian-loss/img/amphibian-30-714.jpg /2009/04/amphibian-loss/img/amphibian-60-30.jpg Photograph by Joel Sartore ESPADA'S MARSUPIAL FROG Gastrotheca testudinea
• Photographed: At Pontificia Universidad Católica del Ecuador, in Quito
• Location: Native to Bolivia, Ecuador, Colombia and Peru
• Status: These frogs are difficult to find in the wild. This specimen is likely the only one of its kind in captivity.]]> http://pictopia.com/perl/ptp/natgeo?photo_name=1206393 /2009/04/amphibian-loss/img/amphibian-32-714.jpg /2009/04/amphibian-loss/img/amphibian-60-32.jpg Photograph by Joel Sartore GOLDEN MANTELLA (Mantella aurantiaca)
• Photographed: At the Sedgwick County Zoo, Wichita, Kansas
• Size: Up to 1 inch
• Location: Native to Madagascar
• Status: These frogs are critically endangered due to degraded habitat.]]> http://pictopia.com/perl/ptp/natgeo?photo_name=1028603 /2009/04/amphibian-loss/img/amphibian-33-714.jpg /2009/04/amphibian-loss/img/amphibian-60-33.jpg Photograph by Joel Sartore YOSEMITE TOADS Anaxyrus (Bufo) canorus
• Photographed: At the Museum of Vertebrate Zoology, University of California, Berkeley.
• Size: Up to 3.5 inches
• Location: Native to the Sierra Nevada mountains of California
• Status: The species is endangered, having decline significantly due to the amphibian chytrid fungus.]]> http://pictopia.com/perl/ptp/natgeo?photo_name=1206397 /2009/04/amphibian-loss/img/amphibian-34-714.jpg /2009/04/amphibian-loss/img/amphibian-60-34.jpg Photograph by Joel Sartore Atelopus nanay
• Photographed: At Pontificia Universidad Católica del Ecuador, in Quito
• Size: Up to 1.5 inches
• Location: Native to Ecuador. Known only from a single province in central Ecuador, this species has no common English name.
• Status: It is critically endangered, hard-hit by the amphibian chytrid fungus.]]> http://pictopia.com/perl/ptp/natgeo?photo_name=1206392 /2009/04/amphibian-loss/img/amphibian-35-714.jpg /2009/04/amphibian-loss/img/amphibian-60-35.jpg Photograph by Joel Sartore MEXICAN AXOLOTL (Ambystoma mexicanum)
• Photographed: At the Detroit Zoo, Detroit, Michigan
• Size: Up to 12 inches
• Location: Native to Mexico
• Status: Habitat loss and fragmented distribution have left this salamander species critically endangered.]]> http://pictopia.com/perl/ptp/natgeo?photo_name=1208444 /2009/04/amphibian-loss/img/amphibian-36-714.jpg /2009/04/amphibian-loss/img/amphibian-60-36.jpg Photograph by Joel Sartore ENSATINA SALAMANDER (Ensatina eschscholtzii eschscholtzii)
• Photographed: At the Museum of Vertebrate Zoology, University of California, Berkeley. This specimen was collected in California.
• Size: Up to 3.5 inches
• Location: Native to North America
• Status: Populations around the San Francisco Bay area are doing well, though loss of habitat for housing and roads may mean trouble in the future.]]> http://pictopia.com/perl/ptp/natgeo?photo_name=1206398 /2009/04/amphibian-loss/img/amphibian-37-714.jpg /2009/04/amphibian-loss/img/amphibian-60-37.jpg Photograph by Joel Sartore GORDON'S MOSSY FROGS (Theloderma gordoni)
• Photographed: At Reptile Gardens, Rapid City, South Dakota
• Size: Up to 2 inches
• Location: Native to northern Thailand and Vietnam
• Status: These frogs—seen here in a defensive posture—are not currently listed as endangered, but wild populations are known to be declining.]]> http://pictopia.com/perl/ptp/natgeo?photo_name=1208443 /2009/04/amphibian-loss/img/amphibian-38-714.jpg /2009/04/amphibian-loss/img/amphibian-60-38.jpg Photograph by Joel Sartore COLUMBIA SPOTTED FROG (Rana luteiventris)
• Photographed in the wild near Austin, Nevada
• Size: Up to 3.5 inches
• Location: Native to the western United States and southwestern Canada
• Status: The species is known to be declining]]> http://pictopia.com/perl/ptp/natgeo?photo_name=1208445 /2009/04/amphibian-loss/img/amphibian-39-714.jpg /2009/04/amphibian-loss/img/amphibian-60-39.jpg Photograph by Joel Sartore WYOMING TOAD Anaxyrus (Bufo) baxteri
• Photographed: At the Cheyenne Mountain Zoo, Colorado Springs, Colorado
• Size: Up to 2.5 inches
• Location: Native to Wyoming
• Status: This species is thought to be extinct in the wild]]>