''Ameerega imasmari'', commonly known as riddle poison frog, is a species of

poison dart frog Poison dart frog (also known as dart-poison frog, poison frog or formerly known as poison arrow frog) is the common name of a group of frogs in the family Dendrobatidae which are native to tropical Central and South America. These species are ...

that lives in

Peru Peru, officially the Republic of Peru, is a country in western South America. It is bordered in the north by Ecuador and Colombia, in the east by Brazil, in the southeast by Bolivia, in the south by Chile, and in the south and west by the Pac ...

and was described in 2019. The specific epithet ''imasmari'' means "riddle" in the indigenous

Quechua Quechua may refer to: *Quechua people, several Indigenous ethnic groups in South America, especially in Peru *Quechuan languages, an Indigenous South American language family spoken primarily in the Andes, derived from a common ancestral language ...

language.

Description

''Ameerega imasmari'' is a small species of ''

Ameerega ''Ameerega'' is a genus of poison dart frogs in the family Dendrobatidae Poison dart frog (also known as dart-poison frog, poison frog or formerly known as poison arrow frog) is the common name of a group of frogs in the Family (biology), ...

'', adult males are slightly smaller than females (

sexual dimorphism Sexual dimorphism is the condition where sexes of the same species exhibit different Morphology (biology), morphological characteristics, including characteristics not directly involved in reproduction. The condition occurs in most dioecy, di ...

): males' size ranges from 18.3 to 19.0 mm and females' size ranges from 19.8 to 21.8 mm.

Habitat

''Ameerega imasmari'' is found in southern Peru (

Cuzco Cusco or Cuzco (; or , ) is a city in southeastern Peru, near the Sacred Valley of the Andes mountain range and the Huatanay river. It is the capital of the eponymous province and department. The city was the capital of the Inca Empire unti ...

, Junín and Pasco) at elevations of 200–400 m, especially purma forest. The frog's range includes many protected areas.

Reproduction

After the eggs hatch, the adult frogs carry the tadpoles to water.

Threats

The IUCN classifies this frog as not at least concern of extinction. What danger it faces takes the form of habitat loss from fires and subsistence farming and logging.

References

Amphibians of Peru imasmari Amphibians described in 2019 Frogs of South America {{Dendrobatidae-stub