Golden Toad
Incilius periglenes (Savage, 1967)
Accepted species in Catalogue of Life’s 11 September 2026 base release. This preserves the source classification and available supporting data; it is not a completed species monograph.
Open encyclopedia reference
The golden toad (Incilius periglenes) is an extinct species of true toad that was once abundant in a small, high-altitude region of about 4 square kilometres (1.5 mi2) in an area north of the city of Monteverde, Costa Rica. It was endemic to elfin cloud forest. Also called the Monte Verde toad, Alajuela toad and orange toad, it is commonly considered the "poster child" for the amphibian decline crisis. This toad was first described in 1966 by herpetologist Jay Savage. The last sighting of a single male golden toad was on 15 May 1989, and it has since been classified as extinct by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN). The golden toad was declared extinct by the IUCN Red List in 2004.
Wikipedia contributors, Golden toad; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T02:19:27.305645+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.
Identity & source status
- Scientific name
- Incilius periglenes (Savage, 1967)
- Name authority
- (Savage, 1967)
- Common name
- Golden Toad
- Rank
- species
- Accepted status
- accepted
- Kingdom
- Animalia
- Phylum
- Chordata
- Class
- Amphibia
- Order
- Anura
- Family
- Bufonidae
- Genus
- Incilius
- Extinction status
- Recorded extinct
Classification family tree
Nested taxonomic groups from the source. This is not a direct-ancestor chain, a dated evolutionary tree or a phylogenetic reconstruction.
- domainEukaryota (Chatton, 1925) Whittaker & Margulis, 1978
- kingdomAnimalia
- phylumChordata
- subphylumVertebrata
- infraphylumGnathostomata
- parvphylumOsteichthyes
- megaclassTetrapoda
- classAmphibia
- orderAnura
- familyBufonidae Gray, 1825
- genusIncilius Cope, 1863
- speciesIncilius periglenes (Savage, 1967)
Close classified relatives
These entries share the source’s genus, Incilius. They are not necessarily the closest relatives established by molecular evidence.
| Species | Classification | Source status |
|---|---|---|
| Sonoran Desert ToadIncilius alvarius (Girard in Baird, 1859) | BufonidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Incilius aucoinae (O'Neill & Mendelson, 2004) | BufonidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Incilius bocourti (Brocchi, 1877) | BufonidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Incilius canaliferus (Cope, 1877) | BufonidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Incilius coniferus (Cope, 1862) | BufonidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Incilius cristatus (Wiegmann, 1833) | BufonidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Incilius epioticus (Cope, 1875) | BufonidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Incilius gemmifer (Taylor, 1940) | BufonidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Incilius karenlipsae Mendelson & Mulcahy, 2010 | BufonidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Incilius leucomyos (McCranie & Wilson, 2000) | BufonidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Incilius luetkenii (Boulenger, 1891) | BufonidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Incilius macrocristatus (Firschein & Smith, 1957) | BufonidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
Names & synonyms
Names explicitly linked to this accepted taxon in the source. Synonymy can change with revision.
| Recorded name | Source status |
|---|---|
| Ollotis periglenes (Savage, 1967) (Savage, 1967) | synonym |
| Bufo periglenes Savage, 1967 Savage, 1967 | synonym |
| Cranopsis periglenes (Savage, 1967) (Savage, 1967) | synonym |
Source literature & publication evidence
References attached to this source record, including nomenclatural citations where supplied. This is a selected bibliography; abbreviated citations remain in the source’s form.
- https://www.itis.gov/servlet/SingleRpt/SingleRpt?search_topic=TSN&search_value=773585 Source fields: Taxon.tsv dwc:namePublishedIn, Taxon.tsv dcterms:references
Origins, evidence & remaining research
Name authority and publication references document nomenclature where the source supplies it. They do not establish evolutionary origins or the earliest fossil occurrence.
Specimen-level evidence, morphology, ecological research, phylogenetic studies, a comprehensive bibliography and a located literary passage have not yet been compiled for this record. A suitable sourced image remains to be added.
Dataset citation & attribution
This exact taxon in ChecklistBank · Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11
Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11; dataset 316321; doi:10.48580/dgz5n. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ . Retrieved 5 October 2026.
Stable key: col:3PLD3. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.