Which toad endemic to Panama is a national symbol of Panama?

The Panamanian golden frog is the endemic Panamanian toad recognized as a national symbol of Panama.

The species is Atelopus zeteki, also called the Panamanian golden toad or Zetek’s golden frog. Despite its common name, it is a true toad in the family Bufonidae. Its bright yellow or golden coloration, sometimes marked with dark spots, helped make it an enduring symbol of Panama and a familiar emblem in national culture.

The frog once lived along mountain streams in the cloud forests of west-central Panama. Chytrid fungus, habitat loss, and other pressures caused severe declines, and the species may have disappeared from the wild around 2007. Conservation programs now maintain captive populations in Panama and elsewhere.

The Panamanian golden frog is not the same animal as the golden poison frog, which is a Colombian poison dart frog. Panama has also celebrated the species through state lottery imagery, local traditions, and National Golden Frog Day, observed on August 14 since legislation passed in 2010.