Craugastor escoces (Anura: Craugastoridae) reappears after 30 years: rediscovery of an 'extinct' Neotropical frog

摘要

We report the rediscovery of a declared extinct frog, Craugastor escoces, at the edge of a protected forest in the Juan Castro Blanco National Park, Alajuela, Costa Rica. This species, which is endemic to Costa Rica, had not been observed since 1986. The rediscovery of this species comes after 30 years without being seen and 12 years of being declared extinct. The site where we found the species is located in the west of the central mountain region of Costa Rica, which is > 15 km away from its known distribution. Our finding adds another species to the list of the few rediscovered frogs declared extinct. Knowing that C. escoces can still be found triggers the need for conservation strategies to help the species survive.