Harlequin frogs (also called harlequin toads) are a group of beautiful, brightly-colored toads found in Central and South America. One species in particular, the Panamanian golden frog, is considered the national animal of Panama and a flagship species for amphibian conservation.
Harlequin frogs are one of the groups most susceptible to the deadly frog fungal disease chytridiomycosis, which has decimated wild populations, even driving some species extinct. Others exist only in captivity, saved from total extinction by the Herculean efforts of conservationists working at the “amphibian ark” in Panama and their partners. Learn more about the effort to save harlequin frogs in the Wild Hope episode, The Frog Ark.