Golden Mantella Mantella aurantiaca

The Golden Mantella is one of several species of tiny, colourful frogs in the genus "Mantella", all native to Madagascar and under threat from habitat loss and collection for the pet trade.

Colour can vary from yellow, golden, orange and nearly red. Like Latin America's poison dart frogs, the bright colour warns predators that the frog is toxic. Toxicity is derived from their diet of invertebrates.

Like the poison frog group, eggs are laid on land, but near water and the rains wash the hatched tadpoles into the water. About an inch long, the Golden Mantella is native to three small, limited areas and is critically endangered, ie at very high risk of becoming extinct in the wild.