Photo credit: Franco Andreone
Cowan’s Mantella (or the Harlequin Mantella), Mantella cowani, is now listed as ‘CRITICALLY ENDANGERED’ on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species™. It is a small venomous frog found in high altitude evergreen forests that run along rivers and streams in eastern central Madagascar. It can also be found in high altitude grassland savannas during the rainy season.
This species has had to endure massive exploitation for the international pet trade as well as deforestation which has left its habitat fragmented and, in some areas, destroyed. Its remaining forest habitat is under threat from increasing subsistence agriculture, timber extraction, charcoal manufacture, livestock grazing, fires and human settlements. As a result, Cowan’s Mantella now only occupy a space of 10km², and its population is estimated to have decreased by more than 80% over the last 15 years.
Work continues on protecting Cowan’s Mantella’s remaining habitats and on implementing the export ban, at least until populations of this species can recover.
Geographic Range of the Cowan’s Mantella
Credit: IUCN Red List of Threatened Species
To learn more about the Cowan’s Mantella, click here. Or visit the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species by clicking their logo below.
