First extinctions on land

Abstract

The golden toad (Bufo periglenes) disappeared from Costa Rica in 1989 and became the first terrestrial extinction to be linked to climate change. Like the first marine extinction attributed to climate change (see chapter 7), the extinction of the golden toad was linked to El Niño events. The marine extinction is irrefutably linked to coral bleaching, but the causes of the golden toad extinction are far more controversial. Golden toad sightings have been reported in Guatemala since the 1980s, but these sightings have never been confirmed. Although there is some hope that residual populations still survive, Bufo periglenes is currently listed as extinct in the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List, and the cause of the extinction is hotly debated.