AMPHIBIA: ANURA: DENDROBATIDAE: Dendrobates

Dendrobates auratus Girard, 1855  

Green and black poison dart frog

Photos & text by Dr. Robert Sprackland

Range: Northern South America and southern Central America; extralimital in Hawaii and Florida.

Diagnosis:

Description: A smooth-skinned black frog with green, silvery-green or turquoise markings.

Natural History: Possibly the most widely distributed and well-studied of the poison dart frogs. The name comes from the use of the skin secretions of relatives of the frogs (genus Phyllobates) by Indians as a poison for blow gun darts. The skin toxins are alkaloids, but this species is considered unlikely to be dangerous to humans (unless ingested). In captivity, skin toxin potency declines, providing evidence that toxin production is linked to some facet of natural diet. 

These tiny frogs feed on insects such as small caterpillars, fruit flies and maggots.

Reproduction: Females lay eggs in water filled bromeliads. Males carry the tadpoles on their backs to large bodies of water, where tadpoles continue to develop.

Taxonomy & Relationships: Despite the generic name (Dendrobates means "tree lover" in Greek), these are slow moving, ground dwelling frogs.

Variation:

Additional Comments:

Type Specimen:

Literature:

Graves, Brent. 2000. Diel activity patterns of the sympatric poison dart frogs, Dendrobates auratus and D. pumilio, in Costa Rica. Journal of Herpetology 33(3):375-381.

Hofricher, Robert (editor). 2000. Amphibians: the world of frogs, toads, salamanders and newts. Firefly Books. ISBN: 1-55209-541-X.