Dendrobatid Frogs
By Audra Irick
The Basics
• Vivid coloration is used to warn potential predators - aposematic coloration. • 6 commonly accepted genera • Approximately 165 species • Life span of 5-7 years • Threatened
Strawberry Poison-Dart Frog Dendrobates pumilio
Geography and Habitat
• Found in the rainforests of Central and South America • Rivers, streams, small bodies of water, leaf litter, foliage, sometimes in trees
Behavior
• • • • Diurnal (active during the daytime) Males are responsible for guarding the eggs Tadpoles are cannibalistic Only predator is the snake Leimadophis epinephelus, which is immune to the frog’s toxins
Reproduction
• Mating season occurs during the rainy season. • Males attract females with elaborate calls • Males find a place on leaves near water for females to lay eggs. The males then fertilize the eggs and guard them and make sure they remain wet until they hatch.
Reproduction
• Eggs hatch in 2-4 weeks, and the tadpoles are transferred to the water via the parent’s back. The tadpoles are taken to separate places because many species are cannibalistic. • Parents feed the tadpoles unfertilized eggs about once a week
Nutrition
• Tadpoles eat unfertilized eggs and other tadpoles • Adults eat ants, termites, small insects, and arthropods • Certain ants contribute to the frog’s toxicity. Frogs that do not eat these ants are not toxic.
Toxins
• Secrete complex, bitter-tasting alkaloid poisons. • Interfere with the liver and cell membrane functions. Affect muscles and nerves, usually causing respiratory and heart failure. Can also cause abortions and birth defects.
Don’t touch this Dendrobate!!!
• The Phyllobates terribilis contains enough toxin to kill 20,000 lab mice • Touching it is fatal
Uses for Dendrobate toxins
• Choco Indians of Colombia boil or impale and roast the frogs and dip darts into the secreted poison. • One frog has enough toxin to coat up to 100 darts. • Phyllobates terribilis are not killed for their poisons. Darts are rubbed directly on their backs.
More Uses for Dendrobate Toxins
• Batrachotoxin has allowed scientists to study sodium channels that regulate the excitation of nerve cells • Epibatidine numbs more efficiently than morphine • Researching ways to make muscle relaxants, heart stimulants and regulators, and anesthetics
Dendrobate Coloration
Dendrobate Coloration
Works Cited
• • • Dart Frog Images Page. Unknown. 2002. Arizona Dendrobate Ranch. 21 January 2003.
Dendrobate Dorato. Unknown. 21 January 2003 Gallery Thumbs. Index. Unknown. Natures-Web. 21 January 2003 The World of Dendrobatid Frogs. Homepage. Unknown. 21 January 2003 Phyllobates Terribilis. Biography. 17 July 2002. Ketterling University. 21 January 2003
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