Search results
Results from the WOW.Com Content Network
Decline in amphibian populations. The Golden toad of Monteverde, Costa Rica, was among the first casualties of amphibian declines. Formerly abundant, it was last seen in 1989. Since the 1980s, decreases in amphibian populations, including population decline and localized mass extinctions, have been observed in locations all over the world.
However, many of the causes of amphibian declines are still poorly understood, and the topic is currently a subject of ongoing research. Modeling results found that the current extinction rate of amphibians could be 211 times greater than the background extinction rate. This estimate even goes up to 25,000–45,000 times if endangered species ...
Habitat destruction. Map of the world's biodiversity hot spots, all of which are heavily threatened by habitat loss and degradation. Habitat destruction (also termed habitat loss and habitat reduction) occurs when a natural habitat is no longer able to support its native species. The organisms once living there have either moved to elsewhere or ...
Golden toad. 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 sq mi) in an area north of the city of Monteverde, Costa Rica. [3] It was endemic to elfin cloud forest. [4] Also called the Monte Verde toad, Alajuela toad and orange ...
Texas was home to a massive river system during the Triassic. A variety of local amphibians and reptiles lived nearby. [4] Triassic life in Texas also included plants and invertebrates, although their fossils tend to be poorly preserved. Sharks left behind their teeth to fossilize at this time. [6]
The Colorado River toad can grow to about 190 millimetres (7.5 in) long and is the largest toad in the United States apart from the non-native cane toad (Rhinella marina). It has a smooth, leathery skin and is olive green or mottled brown in color. Just behind the large golden eye with horizontal pupil is a bulging kidney-shaped parotoid gland.
The Carboniferous rainforest collapse left behind vast regions of desert within the continental interior. [10] Amniotes, which could better cope with these drier conditions, rose to dominance in place of their amphibian ancestors. Various authors recognise at least three, [11] and possibly four [12] extinction events in the Permian.
A 2013 study estimated that 670–933 amphibian species (11–15%) are both highly vulnerable to climate change while already being on the IUCN Red List of threatened species. A further 698–1,807 (11–29%) amphibian species are not currently threatened, but could become threatened in the future due to their high vulnerability to climate ...