Dendrobates histrionicus
TAXONOMY
Dendrobates histrionicus Berthold, 1845, Pacific versant of northwestern Colombia, probably the upper Río San Juan drainage in the present-day Departamento Risaralda.
OTHER COMMON NAMES
None known.
PHYSICAL CHARACTERISTICS
The snout-vent length is 1.1–1.5 in (28.0–38.0 mm) in females and 0.95–1.5 in (24–38 mm) in males. This large dendrobatid has extensive variation in color and pattern among populations. The color is typically red with yellow and orange variants.
DISTRIBUTION
The species inhabits Chocó of western Colombia and northwestern Ecuador.
HABITAT
This species occurs in lowland rainforest.
BEHAVIOR
Resident males establish small territories. They respond aggressively when the call of another male is played on a tape recorder near them.
FEEDING ECOLOGY AND DIET
This species feeds on small insects and arthropods, particularly ants and mites.
REPRODUCTIVE BIOLOGY
If a female approaches a calling male, the male continues calling until the female begins to follow him. He leads the female under the leaf litter, where deposition of eggs occurs. After the eggs develop into tadpoles, the female transports them on her back to small pools of water in the axils of plants such as Heliconia, where the tadpoles undergo the remainder of their development. This species has female parental care, as in the strawberry poison frog, but unlike the strawberry poison frog, the male does not tend the eggs.
CONSERVATION STATUS
Not threatened.
SIGNIFICANCE TO HUMANS
None known.
