Green and Black Poison Dart Frog
Dendrobates auratus
Summary 7
Dendrobates auratus, also known as the green and black poison dart frog or the green and black poison arrow frog, and sometimes mint poison frog (not to be confused with the mint-green color morph of Phyllobates terribilis), is a brightly colored member of the order Anura native to Central America and northwestern parts of South America. It is one of the most variable of all poison dart frogs next to Dendrobates tinctorius and some Oophaga spp....
Diagnosis 8
The green-and-black poison dart frog has the typical appearance of the members of its family. Males average 0.75 inches (1.9 cm), while females are slightly larger, averaging an inch or longer. The green-and-black poison frog typically has mint-green coloration; however, this pigment can also be forest, lime, emerald green, turquoise, or even cobalt blue or pale yellow. Mixed with this typically green are splotches of dark color, ranging from wood brown to black. The green-and-black poison dart frog is one of the most variable of all poison frogs in appearance; some have black or brown splotches, others are dappled, or have "splashes" of black, like Oophaga sylvaticus. It is the only poison dart frog that occurs in Hawaii.[needs citation]
The green-and-black poison dart frog, while not the most toxic poison dart frog, is still a highly toxic animal. The very small amount of poison the frog possesses is enough to make a human heart stop beating. However, like most poison dart frogs, the green-and-black poison dart frog only releases its poison if it feels threatened, and wild specimens can be handled provided the human holding it is calm and relaxed. The green-and-black poison dart frog, as with all poison dart frogs, loses its toxicity in captivity due to a change in diet. This has led some scientists to believe that the green-and-black poison frog actually takes its poison from the mites and other insects on which it feeds.[1]
Conservation 8
It is reproducing nicely at Hawaii and does not need any conservation. In other countries like Panama it is affected by the chytrid fungus and declining rapidly.
Sources and Credits 8
- Scott Norris (14 May 2007). "Toxic Frogs Get Their Poison From Mites". National Geographic News.
Sources and Credits
- (c) John Clare, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC-ND), https://www.flickr.com/photos/johnclare/8058835243/
- (c) Drriss & Marrionn, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC-SA), https://www.flickr.com/photos/drriss/6999638125/
- (c) Josh More, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC-ND), https://www.flickr.com/photos/guppiecat/8930586304/
- (c) Diego Gómez, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC), https://www.flickr.com/photos/dagomezh/8672176021/
- (c) John Clare, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC-ND), https://www.flickr.com/photos/johnclare/8058833930/
- (c) Jean-Francois Brousseau, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC), https://www.flickr.com/photos/phrakt/440280092/
- Adapted by calebcam from a work by (c) Wikipedia, some rights reserved (CC BY-SA), http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dendrobates_auratus
- (c) calebcam, some rights reserved (CC BY-ND)
