Know Your Dart-Poison Frog

by AMNH on Aug 13, 2013 10:30 am

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Ten diminutive, colorful dart-poison frog species are featured in a lively vivarium in
the Museum’s live-animal exhibition Frogs: A Chorus of Colors, now open at the
Museum. In the wild, about 180 species of these frogs, called dendrobatids, have
been discovered so far, with more still being identified.

Get to know a few species before you see the frogs live in the exhibition.

Phyllobates terribilis (Golden poison frog)

Golden poison frog

Size: Up to 2 inches

Range and habitat: Tropical rain forests in Colombia

Frog Fact: Golden poison frogs are excellent “tongue hunters,” rarely missing a

strike; they are also the most poisonous dart-poison frog species. (In the Frogs
exhibition, however, all dart-poison frogs are fed a nontoxic diet—so the frogs are
nontoxic, too.)

Dendrobates auratus (Green and black poison frog)

Green and black poison frog

Size: 1 to 2 inches

Range and habitat: Rain forests and plantations, Nicaragua to Colombia

Frog Fact: Like most dendrobatids, green and black poison frogs are diurnal and
are active all day long.
 

Phyllobates bicolor (Black-legged poison frog)

Black legged poison frog

Size: 1 to 1.75 inches

Range and habitat: Tropical rain forests in Colombia

Frog Fact: Black-legged poison frogs are mainly solitary, but in certain seasons they
gather in large groups to find mates.

Dendrobates tinctorius (Blue poison frog)

Blue dart poison frog

Size: 1 to 1.75 inches

Range and habitat: Forests in northern South America

Frog Fact: Some blue poison frog “morphs” combine white, black, yellow—and, of

course, brilliant blue.

Dendrobates leucomelas (Bumble bee [or yellow-banded] poison frog)

Yellow banded poison frog

Size: 1 to 1.5 inches

Range and habitat: Western Venezuela to Guyana

Frog Fact: Native to dry forests, this species often hides away until the rains come,
after which it ventures forth to forage.