'Atelopus varius', the Costa Rican variable harlequin toad or clown frog, is a small Neotropical true toad from the family Bufonidae. Once ranging from Costa Rica to Panama, the clown frog is now listed as critically endangered and has been reduced to a single remnant population near Quepos, Costa Rica and has only small populations in western Panama.

Recent variation in air temperature, precipitation, stream flow patterns, and the subsequent spread of a pathogenic linked to global climate change have been the leading cause of decline for the clown frog.

It is slow moving and often remains in the same area for long periods of time. The conspicuous coloration of the clown frog serves as a warning to potential predators of the toxicity of the frog's integument which contains tetrodotoxin, a potent neurotoxin.

Its main food source is small arthropods that are most abundant during the dry season. The only known predator of the clown frog is a parasitic sarcophagid fly which deposits its larvae on the surface of the frog's thigh. The larvae then proceed to burrow inside the frog and eat it from within.

The first case of its disappearance was recorded after a census conducted between 1990 and 1992 near Monteverde, Costa Rica revealed zero individuals where its population had previously peaked at 751 adults . By 1996, it was believed to be extinct throughout Costa Rica, however, in a 2019 assessment, two subpopulations were discovered in the country.

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