''Allobates zaparo'', the sanguine poison frog or Zaparo's poison frog (in Spanish ''rana venenosa'') 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 Aromobatidae. It is native to

Ecuador Ecuador, officially the Republic of Ecuador, is a country in northwestern South America, bordered by Colombia on the north, Peru on the east and south, and the Pacific Ocean on the west. It also includes the Galápagos Province which contain ...

and

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 ...

, where it lives in tropical rainforest habitat.

Description

The adult male frog measures 27.0 to 30.5 mm in snout-vent length and the adult female frog 26.5 - 30.5 mm. The skin of the dorsum is red or brick in color with light brown or copper colored lines that start on the snout. The sides of the head and body are black in color, bordered with a brown stripe on top and a white on the bottom. The white stripe may turn blue toward the rear of the body. There is a green-yellow mark on the lip. The upper surfaces of the forelegs are light brown in color with black or dark brown spots. There is yellow or orange color in the axilliary region. The upper surfaces of the hind legs are black in color with blue-gray marks. The undersides of the hind legs or blue in color with black marks. The throat and chest are black in color but may have some blue. The blue becomes an orange stripe near where the front legs meet the body. The belly is blue with black marks. The iris of the eye is black in color with some bronze or copper near the pupil.

Poison

This frog does not have poison chemicals in its skin, but its coloration resembles that of other frogs in

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 ...

that do, making it a Batesian mimic. ''A. zaparo'' most closely resembles '' A. bilinguis'', which is moderately toxic, rather than other frogs in the area with more potent chemical defenses. Scientists believe this is because animals that attempt to prey on moderately toxic frogs learn exactly they look like rather than developing a more generalized aversion.

Etymology

Scientists named this frog ''zaparo'' for the Sápara people who live in eastern Ecuador.

Habitat

This diurnal frog has been observed in forests in lowlands and on rolling hills, largely

primary Primary or primaries may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Music Groups and labels * Primary (band), from Australia * Primary (musician), hip hop musician and record producer from South Korea * Primary Music, Israeli record label Work ...

but occasionally secondary forest and riparian habitats near farmland. It spends time on the

leaf litter Plant litter (also leaf litter, tree litter, soil litter, litterfall, or duff) is dead plant material (such as leaves, bark, needles, twigs, and cladodes) that has fallen to the ground. This detritus or dead organic material and its constituen ...

. Scientists saw the frog between 200 and 1000 meters above sea level. People have seen this frog in many protected parks:

Yasuní National Park Yasuní National Park () is a protected area comprising roughly between the Napo River, Napo and Curaray Rivers in Pastaza Province, Pastaza and Orellana Province, Orellana Provinces within Amazon basin, Amazonian Ecuador. The national park lie ...

, Sangay National Park, Yachana Reserve, and Jatun Sacha Biological Station.

Diet

This frog has a variegated diet but preys extensively on ants.

Reproduction

The male frog perches above the leaf litter and calls to the female frogs. The female frogs lays their eggs in forest leaf litter. After the eggs hatch, the adults carry the young to water.

Taxonomy

This species was treated in genus ''

Epipedobates ''Epipedobates'' is a genus of poison dart frogs native to northern South America (Colombia and Ecuador) west of the Andes, including the western slopes. Common name phantasmal poison frogs has been suggested for the genus. Taxonomy ''Epipedobat ...

'' until phylogenetic analysis justified its transfer to '' Allobates''.Santos, J. C., Coloma, L. A., & Cannatella, D. C. (2003)
Multiple, recurring origins of aposematism and diet specialization in poison frogs.
''Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences'' 100(22), 12792-97.

Threats

The IUCN classifies this frog as least concern of extinction. In places, it is threatened by

habitat loss Habitat destruction (also termed habitat loss or habitat reduction) occurs when a natural habitat is no longer able to support its native species. The organisms once living there have either moved elsewhere, or are dead, leading to a decrease ...

and deforestation in favor of agriculture, livestock cultivation, and the construction of roads for oil extraction. Pollution from farms, livestock, and mining can also affect this frog.

References

zaparo Amphibians of Ecuador Amphibians of Peru Taxonomy articles created by Polbot Amphibians described in 1976 {{Aromobatidae-stub