HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Toughie was the last known living
Rabbs' fringe-limbed treefrog ''Ecnomiohyla rabborum'', commonly known as Rabbs' fringe-limbed treefrog, is a possibly extinct species of frog in the family Hylidae. They were relatively large frogs that inhabited the forest canopies of central Panama. Like other members o ...
. The species, scientifically known as ''Ecnomiohyla rabborum'', is thought to be
extinct Extinction is the termination of an organism by the death of its Endling, last member. A taxon may become Functional extinction, functionally extinct before the death of its last member if it loses the capacity to Reproduction, reproduce and ...
, as the last specimen—Toughie—died in captivity on September 26, 2016.


Captivity

Toughie was captured as an adult in
Panama Panama, officially the Republic of Panama, is a country in Latin America at the southern end of Central America, bordering South America. It is bordered by Costa Rica to the west, Colombia to the southeast, the Caribbean Sea to the north, and ...
in 2005, when researchers went on a conservation mission to rescue species from '' Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis'', a fungus deadly to amphibians. Toughie was one of "several dozen" frogs and tadpoles of the same species to be transported back to the United States. Toughie lived at the
Atlanta Botanical Garden The Atlanta Botanical Garden is a botanical garden located adjacent to Piedmont Park in Midtown Atlanta, Georgia, United States. Incorporated in 1976, the garden's mission is to "develop and maintain plant collections for the purposes of displ ...
in
Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the South Caucasus * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the southeastern United States Georgia may also refer to: People and fictional characters * Georgia (name), a list of pe ...
. At the Garden, he was placed in a special containment area called the "frogPOD", a biosecure enclosure. Visitors to the Garden are not allowed to visit the frogPOD, as it is used to house critically endangered animals. While in captivity at the Garden, Toughie sired tadpoles with a female, but none survived. After the female died, the only other known specimen in the world was a male, leaving Toughie no other options of reproducing. The other male, who lived at the
Zoo Atlanta Zoo Atlanta (sometimes referred as Atlanta Zoo) is an Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA) accredited zoo in Atlanta, Georgia. The current president and CEO of Zoo Atlanta is Raymond B. King. History Zoo Atlanta was founded in 1889, when b ...
, was euthanized on February 17, 2012, due to health concerns. Since Toughie was brought in as an adult to the Garden, they do not know his age but estimated that he was at least 12 years old. On December 15, 2014, Toughie was recorded vocalizing again. It was his first known call since being collected as an adult in 2005. Toughie died on September 26, 2016, at the Garden.


Personal characteristics

Toughie was given his name by Mark Mandica's son Anthony. Mark Mandica was Toughie's caretaker for many years at the Atlanta Botanical Garden. Toughie did not like to be handled. He would pinch a handler's hand in an attempt to "say 'let me go'", according to handler Leslie Phillips. She continued with, "For me it is incredibly motivating working with the Rabbs' frog. Having him here is a constant reminder of what can potentially happen to other species if we don't continue the conservation work that we do here at the Atlanta Botanical Garden. Honestly, it is also nerve-racking at times working with him. It can be a challenging balance between leaving him alone as much as possible to avoid undue stress, while still providing the best possible care... He is just really cool. No other frog I have seen is quite like him. He is muscular and has giant webbed feet and big eyes ... He is a very handsome frog." Handlers tried to touch him as little as possible, but they did weigh him once a week to keep track of his health.


Featured in projects

In July 2013, ''
National Geographic ''National Geographic'' (formerly ''The National Geographic Magazine'', sometimes branded as ''Nat Geo'') is an American monthly magazine published by National Geographic Partners. The magazine was founded in 1888 as a scholarly journal, nine ...
'' featured Toughie and his species in their magazine. It is part of ''
The Photo Ark ''The Photo Ark'' is a ''National Geographic'' project, led by photographer Joel Sartore, with the goal of photographing all species living in zoos and wildlife sanctuaries around the globe in order to inspire action to save wildlife. The project ...
'' project run by photographer
Joel Sartore Joel Sartore is an American photographer focusing on conservation photography, conservation, speaker, author, teacher, and long-time contributor to National Geographic (magazine), ''National Geographic'' magazine. He is the head of ''The Photo Ar ...
. They also focused on the Atlanta Botanical Garden's Amphibian Conservation Program. In 2014,
Louie Psihoyos Louis (Louie) Psihoyos (born April 15, 1957) is an American photographer and documentary film director known for his still photography and contributions to National Geographic Society, National Geographic. Psihoyos, a certified SCUBA diver, has ...
filmed Toughie for his 2015 film ''
Racing Extinction ''Racing Extinction'' is a 2015 documentary about the Holocene extinction, ongoing anthropogenic mass extinction of species and the efforts from scientists, activists, and journalists to document it by Oscar-winning director Louie Psihoyos, who ...
'', including footage of Sartore photographing him. To promote the film and the extinction crisis, a 30-story series of photographs was projected onto the side of the United Nations Building in
New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...
in September 2014. Included was a photograph of Toughie. Toughie was the subject of the 2024 song "The endLing" by
Talia Schlanger Talia Hannah Schlanger is a Canadian musician and radio broadcaster, who has worked in both Canada and the United States. Formerly a weekend host of '' Radio 2 Morning'' on CBC Radio 2 and TV host of '' CBC Music Backstage Pass'', and a part-time ...
.


See also

*
Conservation status The conservation status of a group of organisms (for instance, a species) indicates whether the group still exists and how likely the group is to become extinct in the near future. Many factors are taken into account when assessing conservation ...
*
Endling An endling is the last known individual of a species or subspecies. Once the endling dies, the species becomes extinct. The word was coined in correspondence in the scientific journal ''Nature''. Usage The 4 April 1996 issue of ''Nature'' p ...
*
Extinction Extinction is the termination of an organism by the death of its Endling, last member. A taxon may become Functional extinction, functionally extinct before the death of its last member if it loses the capacity to Reproduction, reproduce and ...
*
Lists of extinct animals This page features lists of species and organisms that have become extinct. The reasons for extinction range from natural occurrences, such as shifts in the Earth's ecosystem or natural disasters, to human influences on nature by the overuse of n ...
**
List of recently extinct amphibians The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) lists 35 extinction, extinct species, 146 possibly extinct species, two extinct in the wild species, and one possibly extinct in the wild species of amphibians. Caudata, Salamanders Exti ...
*
Rare species A rare species is a group of organisms that are very uncommon, scarce, or infrequently encountered. This designation may be applied to either a plant or animal taxon, and is distinct from the term ''endangered species, endangered'' or ''threatened ...


References

{{reflist, 30em 2016 animal deaths Ecnomiohyla Endlings Individual animals in the United States Individual frogs