Starry night toad

Starry night toad
Conservation status
Critically Endangered  (IUCN 3.1)[1]
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Amphibia
Order:	Anura
Family:	Bufonidae
Genus:	Atelopus
Species:	A. arsyecue
Binomial name
Atelopus arsyecue Rueda-Almonacid, 1994

The starry night harlequin toad (Atelopus arsyecue) is a species of toad in the family Bufonidae endemic to the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta, Colombia.^[2] Its natural habitats are sub-Andean and Andean forests, sub-páramo and páramo at 2,000–3,500 m (6,600–11,500 ft) above sea level. It is named after its unique coloration, being largely black with white spots.^[3]

Atelopus arsyecue is primarily threatened by habitat loss, with assumptions on decline by chytridiomycosis. Coupled with the inaccessibility of the preservation that the toad calls home, the species was feared extinct for over 30 years.^[1] However, its continued existence was known to the Arhuaco community in Sogrome, who referred to the animal as gouna and considered its habitat a sacred location. In 2019, the tribe consented to collaboration with researchers and showed them the living population, marking the first scientific documentation of this species in over 30 years.^[3]