This project aims to save the only known population of the critically endangered Mindo Harlequin Toad (Atelopus mindoensis), rediscovered in 2019 after being thought extinct for 30 years. The project will implement a rapid-response monitoring program, the sourcing of a backup ex-situ colony based on tadpoles, and the creation of a reserve to protect the habitat of the only surviving population. All these actions seek to increase population densities and ultimately help save the species from extinction.
What is the story of the toad?If the Mindo Harlequin-Toad had a year- book photo, its caption might have read “most unlikely to be rediscovered.” The tiny, Christmas-colored species was declared “possibly extinct” after not being seen in its habitat since 1989. However, everything changed in 2019 when relict population was discovered in a remote undisclosed locality in the cloud forests of Mindo. The rediscovery came as a surprise, since no one was looking for the lost toad. “The team was not looking for Atelopus or even expecting them,” explains Alejandro Arteaga, one of the authors of the paper announcing the species’ rediscovery (Barrio-Amorós et al. 2019). “The cloud forests where it lives are the most thoroughly documented in the country, and no one had seen harlequins in 30 years.” |
What is the goal of the project?The goal of this project is the creation of Arlequín Reserve, a 83-hectare cloud forest protected area to preserve the habitat of the only known relict population of the Mindo Harlequin-Toad (Atelopus mindoensis) in order to save the species from extinction. |
Specific objectives1. Create new reserve to protect the entirety of the only known relict population of Atelopus mindoensis. 2. Establish a permanent project to monitor the status of the harlequin toad population. 3. Create a backup ex-situ colony for the species at Centro Jambatu, with the founders being tadpoles from Arlequín Reserve. 4. Create a documentary to share the story and gather additional support. |
Why is this project urgent?In 2019, after the rediscovery of the Mindo Harlequin-Toad was announced, a group of founder individuals (4 males and 1 females) of this species were brough back to the Centro Jambatu de Conservación de Anfibios in Quito. Ex-situ breeding of Atelopus is an action of last resort, a desperate attempt to create a back-up population and headstarting program in case the species becomes extinc in the wild. Centro Jambatu has had phenomenal success breeding 10 of the 25 species of Atelopus in Ecuador, thus helping ensure their survival. Unfortunately, all attempts to breed A. mindoensis ex-situ failed and the entire group of founder individuals died, with no additional toads being found since. Where ex-situ breeding of Atelopus has failed, in situ habitat preservation, monitoring, and breeding has succeeded. This has been the case for other harlequin toads in Ecuador, and perhaps is the best (only?) strategy to preserve A. mindoensis. |
Fabulous news! A gravid female Mindo Harlequin Toad (Atelopus mindoensis) has been found in the Arlequín Reserve! This individual, survivor #9, marks the first sighting of a female of this species since 1989. Given that a single Atelopus clutch can contain up to 600 eggs, she has the potential to single-handedly boost the species’ only surviving population, at least in the short term. We’ve named her “Mami” in honor of Mami Okura, an early supporter of the Arlequín Reserve. Special thanks go to the Burgers’ Zoo Conservation Foundation and the Van Tienhoven Foundation for their support of the 2025 Mindo Harlequin Toad monitoring season.
Photo 1/4: “Mami” is the ninth survivor observed since the species' rediscovery, and notably, the first female recorded in 36 years. Her discovery signals the potential for imminent and massive recruitment within the Mindo Harlequin Toad population—truly fantastic and hopeful news! Photo by Eric Osterman.
Photo 2/4: Ventral aspect of “Mami,” showing the lower abdomen swollen due to the presence of eggs. A single clutch may contain up to 600 eggs. Photo by Eric Osterman.
Photo 3/4: Herpetologist Eric Osterman holding a female of Atelopus mindoensis. Eric found this individual perched on a bromeliad about two meters above the forest floor. Photo by Alejandro Arteaga.
Photo 4/4: Park ranger Gerardo Obando holding a female of Atelopus mindoensis. Gerardo is the person in charge of protecting the habitat of the species and monitoring the status of the population. Photo by Alejandro Arteaga.
Thanks to the generous support of the Burgers’ Zoo Conservation Foundation, our team launched the 2025 monitoring season of Atelopus mindoensis 🐸 in Ecuador’s Arlequín Reserve. So far, no surviving toads have been found this year, nor during this first phase of the census. But we remain hopeful. This mission is led by the same team that discovered all eight known survivors of A. mindoensis since the species’ rediscovery—now joined by the backing and expertise of Burgers’ Zoo. To share early results, we’ve created the video below highlighting the discovery of the 10th globally threatened amphibian species documented at the reserve. We are deeply grateful to the Burgers’ Zoo Conservation Foundation for helping safeguard this remarkable amphibian community.
Thanks to the support of World Rainforest Fund, Ceiba Foundation, the Mohamed bin Zayed Species Conservation Fund, and 48 backers, Khamai Foundation has officially protected the first 5 hectares of Arlequín Reserve, including the land where five of the eight survivors of Atelopus mindoensis have been found.
Photo 1/1: The first five hectares of cloud forest habitat of Atelopus mindoensis have officially been aquired by Khamai Foundation, protecting part of the habitat of the last surviving population of this Critically Endangered species. Photo by Michelle León.
FOUND! Two additional survivors of the Mindo Toad have been spotted. These correspond to survivor #7 (Malki) and survivor #8 (Tyroncito). Thanks to the support of the Mohamed bin Zayed Species Conservation Fund, the team of Khamai Foundation will be monitoring them in-situ and protecting their habitat, ensuring that the last relict population of this critically endangered species is not destroyed, polluted, or infected with chytrid fungus.
Photo 1/4: “Tyroncito” is the eighth survivor of Atelopus mindoensis seen since the species was rediscovered and the first froglet recorded in 36 years. Its discovery indicates that recruitment in the Mindo Harlequin Toad is taking place—a fabulous and hopeful news! Photo by Amanda Quezada.
Photo 2/4: Biologist Amanda Quezada uses a petri dish to examine “Tyroncito,” the seventh survivor of Atelopus mindoensis found since the species was rediscovered in 2019. Photo by Alejandro Arteaga.
Photo 3/4: Biologist Doménica Gómez and park ranger Gerardo Obando of Khamai Foundation explore riparian vegetation during a rapid-response census of the Mindo Harlequin Toad. Photo by Amanda Quezada.
Photo 4/4: Biologist Amanda Quezada of Khamai Foundation utilizes a clear-bottom tank to search for tadpoles of Atelopus mindoensis. No tadpoles of the species have been recorded since 1989. Photo by Gerardo Obando.
Thanks to the support of a grant from Ceiba Foundation, our team embarked on a series of monitoring expeditions to the cloud forests of Arlequín Reserve. The goal? To determine whether any individuals of the Mindo Harlequin Toad (Atelopus mindoensis) still survive. As a result, on September 10, 2024, at 7:30 pm, Gerardo Obando, park ranger at Khamai Foundation, spotted the first individual of the species seen in five years and only the sixth recorded in 30 years. The toad was named “Tyrone the Solitary,” or “Soli-Tyrone González Obando,” and is now under the close watch of Gerardo and Amanda. No other toads were found during the initial monitoring phase, so the lone toad was left where it was found, enclosed in a makeshift semi-permeable quadrant to track its condition.
Khamai Foundation has reached 23% of the fundraising goal thanks to 22 backers, with three large individual donations accounting for 86% of the total funds raised. With this backing, our team begun doing intermittent explorations of the site with the intention of recording additional toads. But, being the peak of the rainy season (Atelopus breeds during the low-water season), the likelihood of finding the toads was at its lowest. No individuals were found between February and July.
On this day, the fundraiser for the Rapid-response project to save the Mindo Harlequin Toad is officially launched. It was seeded with the support of six backers, which allowed the team of Khamai Foundation to begin exploring the target land lot immediately as well as sign an agreement to purchase the land for the specific consevation of the Mindo Harlequin Toad. The project revolved around the idea that the Mindo Toad will probably not evade extinction a second time if its unique habitat is not protected immediately.
Photo 1/2: Aerial view of the Arlequín Reserve cloud forest, habitat of Atelopus mindoensis, including the first 5 hectare land lot targeted through the current fundraiser. Photo by Alejandro Arteaga
Photo 2/2: This cloud forest stream is the habitat of the only known surviving population of the Mindo Harlequin-Toad. The locality was kept secret in order to maintain the integrity of the population. Photo by Eric Osterman
