''Adelphobates'' is a small genus 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 ...

s. They are found in the central and lower

Amazon basin The Amazon basin is the part of South America drained by the Amazon River and its tributary, tributaries. The Amazon drainage basin covers an area of about , or about 35.5 percent of the South American continent. It is located in the countries ...

of Peru and Brazil, possibly Bolivia. It was originally erected as a

sister group In phylogenetics, a sister group or sister taxon, also called an adelphotaxon, comprises the closest relative(s) of another given unit in an evolutionary tree. Definition The expression is most easily illustrated by a cladogram: Taxon A and ...

to the ''

Dendrobates ''Dendrobates'' is a genus of poison dart frogs native to Central and South America. It once contained numerous species, but most originally placed in this genus have been split off into other genera such as '' Adelphobates'', '' Ameerega'', '' ...

'' and ''

Oophaga ''Oophaga'' is a genus of poison-dart frogs containing twelve species, many of which were formerly placed in the genus ''Dendrobates''. The frogs are distributed in Central and South America, from Nicaragua south through the El Chocó to norther ...

'' genera. The validity of the genus is still being discussed, with the alternative being "''Dendrobates galactonotus'' group" within ''

''. One species originally placed in this genus as '' Adelphobates captivus'' has since been moved to the genus ''

Excidobates ''Excidobates'' is a genus of poison dart frogs endemic to the Marañón River The Marañón River (, , ) is the principal or mainstem source of the Amazon River, arising about 160 km (100 miles) to the northeast of Lima, Peru, and flowing ...

'' erected in 2008.

Etymology

''Adelphobates'' is from the Ancient Greek, ''adelphos'' (brother or twin) and ''bates'' (walker or climber)."Brothers" refers to Charles W. Myers and John W. Daly, two unrelated scientists directly involved with studies of the species.

Biology

All members have conspicuous, vibrant coloration, and smooth skin. A peculiar feature of their reproduction is that

tadpole A tadpole or polliwog (also spelled pollywog) is the Larva, larval stage in the biological life cycle of an amphibian. Most tadpoles are fully Aquatic animal, aquatic, though some species of amphibians have tadpoles that are terrestrial animal, ...

s are transported to

Brazil nut The Brazil nut (''Bertholletia excelsa'') is a South American tree in the family Lecythidaceae, and it is also the name of the tree's commercially harvested edible seeds. It is one of the largest and longest-lived trees in the Amazon rainforest. ...

capsules lying on the forest floor. Cannibalism may result if more than one tadpole ends up in the same capsule.

Poison

All poison frogs are toxic and noxious. Like frogs of the genus Dendrobates, Adelphobates contain

Pumiliotoxin 251D Pumiliotoxin 251D is a toxic organic compound. It is found in the skin of poison frogs from the genera '' Dendrobates'', ''Epipedobates'', '' Minyobates'', and ''Phyllobates'' and toads from the genus '' Melanophryniscus''. Its name comes from th ...

, which is hydroxylated to

Allopumiliotoxin 267A Allopumiliotoxin 267A is a toxin found in the skin of several poison frogs of the family ''Dendrobates''. It is a member of the class of compounds known as allopumiliotoxins. The frogs produce the toxin by modifying the original version, pumilio ...

, which is 5 times more toxic. The median lethal dose is 200 μg/kg and 40 μg/kg respectively.

Etymology

Biology

Poison

Species

References

External links