Yellow-Banded Poison Dart Frog - Singapore Zoo

The yellow-banded poison dart frog (''Dendrobates leucomelas''), also known as yellow-headed poison dart frog or bumblebee poison frog, is a

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 ...

from the genus '' Dendrobates'' of 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 ...

Distribution and habitat

''Dendrobates leucomelas'' is a common

found in the northern part of continent of South America, most notably in

Venezuela Venezuela, officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, is a country on the northern coast of South America, consisting of a continental landmass and many Federal Dependencies of Venezuela, islands and islets in the Caribbean Sea. It com ...

. It is also found in parts of

Guyana Guyana, officially the Co-operative Republic of Guyana, is a country on the northern coast of South America, part of the historic British West Indies. entry "Guyana" Georgetown, Guyana, Georgetown is the capital of Guyana and is also the co ...

Brazil Brazil, officially the Federative Republic of Brazil, is the largest country in South America. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by area, fifth-largest country by area and the List of countries and dependencies by population ...

, and the extreme easternmost part of

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 ...

. This

amphibian Amphibians are ectothermic, anamniote, anamniotic, tetrapod, four-limbed vertebrate animals that constitute the class (biology), class Amphibia. In its broadest sense, it is a paraphyletic group encompassing all Tetrapod, tetrapods, but excl ...

is normally found in very humid conditions in tropical rain forests, close to fresh water. It is often found on flat rocks, trees, plants (notably

bromeliads The Bromeliaceae (the bromeliads) are a family of monocot flowering plants of about 80 genera and 3700 known species, native mainly to the tropical Americas, with several species found in the American subtropics and one in tropical west Africa, ...

), and the leaf litter of the forest floor. During the dry season, specimens are known to congregate in damper places, such as under rocks or fallen tree trunks. The ''D. leucomelas natural habitat is tropical, and not subject to great seasonal temperature variations. Typically, temperature variances are related to elevation and time of day, and range from or above. In captivity, care must be taken not to overheat the frogs, as they can be sensitive to higher temperatures. Although preferring high humidity levels, this species can handle lower humidity levels much better than other species in the genus. Specimens can also be found in the seasonally drier forest islands in its natural range, and at elevations ranging from sea level to

AMSL Height above mean sea level is a measure of a location's vertical distance (height, elevation or altitude) in reference to a vertical datum based on a historic mean sea level. In geodesy, it is formalized as orthometric height. The zero level v ...

Morphology

''Dendrobates leucomelas'' is one of the largest species in the genus ''Dendrobates'', with a snout-to-vent length between . Average adult size, however, rarely exceeds . Their average weight is reported as being around . Females tend to be slightly larger than the males, but otherwise, little in their appearance can be used to determine the sex of the species. Like most poison dart frogs, the yellow-banded poison dart frog has evolved

aposematic Aposematism is the Advertising in biology, advertising by an animal, whether terrestrial or marine, to potential predation, predators that it is not worth attacking or eating. This unprofitability may consist of any defenses which make the pr ...

colouration as a warning to potential predators that it will make an unpalatable or toxic meal. Predominantly, these frogs have a bright yellow colouration with varying numbers of broad black stripes and/or spots that extend over the whole body. Some morphs are orange in colour, and variations exist within the species (naturally occurring and not morphs solely within the exotic pet community) that dictate the extent of these markings ranging from fine spots to thick, unbroken banding. They have glandular, adhesive pads on their toes (which aid in climbing and positioning) and, in common with other species in their order, they have a short, protrudable, unnotched, sticky tongue, which extends to catch prey.

Behaviour

''Dendrobates leucomelas'' frogs are diurnal by nature, and are known to be fiercely territorial. They live in small groups. Uniquely, it is also the only poison dart frog to estivate during dry spells.

Toxicity

Like all Dendrobatidae, ''D. leucomelas'' frogs secrete toxins from their skin, which they gain from eating certain unspecified

arthropod Arthropods ( ) are invertebrates in the phylum Arthropoda. They possess an arthropod exoskeleton, exoskeleton with a cuticle made of chitin, often Mineralization (biology), mineralised with calcium carbonate, a body with differentiated (Metam ...

prey. It is uncertain precisely which arthropods lend their toxicity to which genus of Dendrobatidae, but one such arthropod is thought to have been identified as a possible source of the toxin for Dendrobatidae '' Phyllobates terribilis'' (aka the golden poison frog), and it is a local variant of the Melyrid beetle. Dendrobatidae toxins vary from species to species, but some are extremely potent neurotoxins. The alkaloid toxins, secreted from the frogs' skin, interfere with nerve impulses, which can lead to heart failure or

fibrillation Fibrillation is the rapid, irregular, and unsynchronized contraction of muscle fibers. An important occurrence is with regard to the heart. Cardiology There are two major classes of cardiac fibrillation: atrial fibrillation and ventricular fib ...

Husbandry and conservation status

The species' robustness, relatively common numbers in the wild, and widespread natural distribution has helped maintain this frog's status of "

Least Concern A least-concern species is a species that has been evaluated and categorized by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) as not being a focus of wildlife conservation because the specific species is still plentiful in the wil ...

" on the International Union for Conservation of Nature's conservation red list, despite some

overharvesting Overexploitation, also called overharvesting or ecological overshoot, refers to harvesting a renewable resource to the point of diminishing returns. Continued overexploitation can lead to the destruction of the resource, as it will be unable to ...

of wild specimens for the exotic pet trade. The species' ability to be easily bred in captivity has led to a fall in prices within the free market, which is an alleviative factor to the problem of overharvesting.

References

External links

Dendrobates leucomelas
at Amphibiaweb
Dendrobates leucomelas
at CalPhotos {{Taxonbar, from=Q615690 Poison dart frogs Amphibians of Venezuela Amphibians of Guyana Frogs of Brazil Amphibians of Colombia Amphibians described in 1864 Dendrobates