#Dendrobatidae

[herpsandbirds]

Cauca Poison Frog (Andinobates bombetes), father transporting tadpoles, family Dendrobatidae, endemic to Colombia

photograph by Juank Gonzalez

[birdblues]

Red-headed Poison Frog

[uncharismatic-fauna]

Golden Poison Frogs: The Gold Standard

Golden poison frogs (Phyllobates terribilis) are a species of frog found only along the Pacific coast in the Amazon Rainforest of Columbia; their total range encompasses less than 5,000 square km;. Their prime habitat is near rivers, streams, and ponds, but the are able to survive in a variety of microhabitats along the forest floor thanks to the forest's extremely warm, humid climate.

The golden poison frog is perhaps noted for its crowning as the most poisonous species on the planet. A single adult contains enough poison in its skin to kill 2-3 grown humans, although the frog would have to be ingested for its toxins to be fatal. However, there is at least one species of snake, the fire-bellied snake (Erythrolamprus epinephalus) which is immune to the frog's toxins and often predates on juveniles. P. terribilis consumes a variety of insects, but gets its poison from the beetles in its diet, and without them individuals lose their toxicity.

Although tiny, the golden poison frog is hard to miss. They are the largest species of poison frog at a weight of 30 g (1 oz) and a length of 6 cm (2.4 in). Females are usually larger than males. The species is named for the most common color moroph, bright yellow, but populations may also come in green, orange, and white. The coloration is a warning to predators to stay away.

Golden poison frogs are typically active during the day. Members of the same sex are highly territorial, but populations within a small area can be quite large. Individuals defend their territory by calling loudly and performing a push-up motion, which can also serve to attract potential mates. The species can reproduce year-round, and both males and females have multiple partners.

After the female has laid a clutch of about 20 eggs, the male carries them on his back up a tree to a bromeliad or small tree hole filled with water. There the eggs hatch as tadpoles after 11-12 days. The tadpoles feed on algae and insect larvae until they metamorphose into froglets, which takes about 2 months. The froglets take a further year to fully mature, and adults may live for up to 5 years.

Conservation status: P. terribilis is classified as Endangered by the IUCN. The species has a relatively small home range, and is seriously threatened by habitat loss. However, there are many private, government, and NGO captive-bread populations across the globe.

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Photos

Victor Fabio Luna-Mora

Micha L. Rieser

Leighton Pritchard

[snototter]

A strawberry poison dart frog (Oophaga pumilio) in Bocas del Toro, Panama

by Art

[nmfonsek-art]

🐸

[quark-nova]

yeah that's a dart frog okay

[amphibianenrichment]

1558511525736-2048411262

[frogs-at-will]

The most poisonous of the poison-dart frog family (Dendrobatidae) is the golden dart frog (Phyllobates terribilis). They might even be the most poisonous animal in the world.

[haveyouseenthisanimal-irl]

[temporalteardrop]

of course!

i am now responsible for the care of 15 poison dart frogs this is so stressful i'm not ready to be a mother

[herpsandbirds]

Uakari Poison Frog (Ranitomeya uakarii), father and tadpoles, family Dendobatidae, Peru

Males carry tadpoles to water filled bromeliads after hatching.

photograph by Jonghyun Park

[birdblues]

Harlequin Poison Frog

[uncharismatic-fauna]

Uncharismatic Fact of the Day

Though these frogs look very pretty, admirers must be very careful never to-- wait, no, false alarm! Ranitomeya imitator is better known as the mimic poison dart frog, due to its uncanny resemblence to its deadly relatives. The bright colors help keep predators away, and but their skin is only mildly toxic. R. imitator isn't the only species that's become a copy cat; a number of South American frogs have adopted this tactic with varying degrees of success.

(Image: A mimic poison dart frog (Ranitomeya imitator) with tadpole by Dr. John P. Clare)

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[markscherz]

What is the smartest frog?

Frog intelligence has not been quantified nearly well enough. That being said, some frogs have a spatial memory of their environment and use that knowledge to navigate it (Pašukonis et al. 2016). This amounts to a 'cognitive map', which is apparently a big deal (Liu et al. 2019). The very limited work that has been done seems to indicate that at least some poison dart frogs (Dendrobatidae) perform better than at least some other frogs (Engystomops pustulosus, Leptodactylidae) (Liu et al. 2020).

[nmfonsek-art]

Dendrobatidae

[woodfrogs]

hi can you tell me your favorite frogs? i wanna draw some frogs i figured you'd know some fun ones c:

yes!! omg okay so im pretty biased towards frogs from the americas but ill try to put in some variety especially with some funky-looking ones :D

wood frog obviously. theres a variant with a white stripe down their back that some research suggests tends to appear more in grasslands!

spring peepers have a very cute X on their back

grey tree frogs/copes grey tree frogs are also very cute... theyre genetically different but visually indistinguishable

indian bullfrog. this is what the male looks like during breeding season. look at him. hes politely calling you over

spadefoot toads in general but some look especially silly. look at this plains spadefoot. he looks like sad kermit

my favourite sopping wet flat beast (happy flat fuck friday) : the bornean flat-headed frog. hes so flat because he got rid of his lungs :)

the blue-legged mantella and harald maier's mantella. madagascaran frogs that i find very pretty. and boophis pyrrhus bc this website (rightfully) loves boophis. their eyes are my favourite

Proceratophrys laticeps and the ecuador horned tree frog if you want some pointy guys

the manu poison dart frog, blessed poison frog, zimmerman's poison frog.... most frogs in dendrobatidae are brightly coloured or have striking patterns and are GORGEOUS but these are my favourite other than the really well-known ones

Ceuthomantis smaragdinus. there are like two pictures of this species online and im obsessed. look at this

All Calyptocephallelidae (like 5 species). bumpy lads

guangdong frogs (hylarana macrodactyla) AND guangdong rice frogs (microhyla pulchra). completely different families and different looking. thin and pointy vs round triangle. this is the latter

... i think thats it. well obviously there are more but these are the most visually stunning ones i found. i hope it covers a good enough variety of body shapes. there are so many fun species in the world amen