Mountain Mist Frog (Ranoidea nyakalensis)

The Mountain Mist Frog (Ranoidea nyakalensis) was a slender, greenish-brown tree frog once found in the misty upland rainforests of Queensland’s Kroombit Tops in Australia. First described in 1986, it inhabited fast-flowing mountain streams, where it hid under rocks and leaf litter during the day and hunted insects at night. Adapted to its moist environment with suction toe pads and camouflaged skin, it was a secretive and rarely seen species. Tragically, the frog was last observed in 1990 and has since been declared extinct by the IUCN. Its sudden disappearance is believed to have been caused by chytrid fungus, a deadly skin disease that has devastated amphibian populations globally, alongside possible impacts from habitat changes. The extinction of the Mountain Mist Frog is a poignant reminder of how vulnerable even remote and pristine ecosystems are to emerging global threats.