The cream-backed poison frog (''Hyloxalus subpunctatus'') is a species of

frog A frog is any member of a diverse and largely semiaquatic group of short-bodied, tailless amphibian vertebrates composing the order (biology), order Anura (coming from the Ancient Greek , literally 'without tail'). Frog species with rough ski ...

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), family Dendrobatidae which are native to tropical Central America, Central an ...

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found only in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also foun ...

Colombia Colombia, officially the Republic of Colombia, is a country primarily located in South America with Insular region of Colombia, insular regions in North America. The Colombian mainland is bordered by the Caribbean Sea to the north, Venezuel ...

. Its natural

habitat In ecology, habitat refers to the array of resources, biotic factors that are present in an area, such as to support the survival and reproduction of a particular species. A species' habitat can be seen as the physical manifestation of its ...

s are subtropical or tropical, high-altitude

grassland A grassland is an area where the vegetation is dominance (ecology), dominated by grasses (Poaceae). However, sedge (Cyperaceae) and rush (Juncaceae) can also be found along with variable proportions of legumes such as clover, and other Herbaceo ...

, shrub-dominated

wetland A wetland is a distinct semi-aquatic ecosystem whose groundcovers are flooded or saturated in water, either permanently, for years or decades, or only seasonally. Flooding results in oxygen-poor ( anoxic) processes taking place, especially ...

swamp A swamp is a forested wetland.Keddy, P.A. 2010. Wetland Ecology: Principles and Conservation (2nd edition). Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK. 497 p. Swamps are considered to be transition zones because both land and water play a role in ...

s, intermittent freshwater

marsh In ecology, a marsh is a wetland that is dominated by herbaceous plants rather than by woody plants.Keddy, P.A. 2010. Wetland Ecology: Principles and Conservation (2nd edition). Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK. 497 p More in genera ...

es, rural gardens,

urban area An urban area is a human settlement with a high population density and an infrastructure of built environment. Urban areas originate through urbanization, and researchers categorize them as cities, towns, conurbations or suburbs. In urbani ...

s, and heavily degraded former forests. The cream-backed poison frog is one of the less-toxic of the family. It has undergone several name changes since its discovery. Originally called '' Dendrobates subpunctatus'', its name was changed to ''Colostethus subpuctatus'' once the family Dendrobatidae underwent a division of species and genera other than ''Dendrobates'' were coined. Recently, minor skeletal differences have separated the cream-backed poison frog from the rocket frogs, and placed it in another genus entirely, '' Hyloxalus''.

Toxin

Like many of the genus ''Hyloxalus'', ''H. subpunctatus'' possesses fairly weak toxins, compared to those of other dendrobatids. It may be one of the most primitive of dendrobatids, as it has only begun to develop skin alkaloids and is still fairly drab in coloration. Its poison is already an effective defense mechanism; if tasted by a predator, the alkaloids in the frog's skin cause extreme pain and unpleasant taste. This will usually discourage a predator from attacking a cream-backed poison frog more than once. However, ''H. subpunctatus'' is still vulnerable to more determined predators, such as snakes, which is further evidence that it may be a fairly young species compared to other inedible or even deadly dendrobatids.

Description

The cream-backed poison frog is one of the smallest dendrobatids, reaching a length of 2 cm when fully grown. As stated above, it has poorly developed alkaloid poisons in its skin that make it unpalatable to predators, but it still mostly depends on its body camouflage for protection. Like many of the genus ''Hyloxalus'', it has fairly drab coloration. Its main body is wood brown, with cream-colored stripes running down the length of its back (hence the frog's common name) and flanks that range from dark, smoky gray to inky black. ''H. subpunctatus'' may be one of the most primitive poison dart frogs, as it bears several similarities to hylids, such as long, narrow toes with suckerlike discs at the ends to help it grip leaves, slight webbing between its toes, and cryptic coloration. While hylids use the suckers on their toes to climb trees, the cream backed poison frog uses them to give it a good grip as it clambers through the leaf litter. Other dendrobatids lack webbing on their feet, and the discs at the tips of their toes are not adhesive. In addition, the cream-backed poison frog is one of the few species of dendrobatids that does not care for its young, another sign that it is a fairly primitive frog.

Distribution and habitat

The cream-backed poison frog is native to the

Altiplano Cundiboyacense The Altiplano Cundiboyacense () is a high plateau located in the Eastern Cordillera of the Colombian Andes covering parts of the departments of Cundinamarca and Boyacá. (Do not confuse with The Altiplano or the Altiplano Nariñense, both fur ...

highland region of the Eastern Cordillera in Boyacá, Cundinamarca and Meta Departments of central Colombia, at altitudes between above sea level. Its habitat is open areas, marshes, wetlands, forest edges, and

páramo Páramo () may refer to a variety of alpine tundra ecosystems located in the Andes Mountain Range, South America. Some ecologists describe the páramo broadly as "all high, tropical, montane vegetation above the continuous timberline". A narrower ...

. It does not tolerate waters polluted by urban or agricultural runoffs.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q3005518 Hyloxalus Amphibians described in 1899 Amphibians of Colombia Amphibians of the Andes Páramo fauna Taxa named by Edward Drinker Cope