Reticulated Poison Frog

Reticulated Poison Frog
Conservation status
Endangered (IUCN 3.1)
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Amphibia
Order:	Anura
Family:	Dendrobatidae
Genus:	Ranitomeya
Species:	R. ventrimaculata
Binomial name
Ranitomeya ventrimaculata Shreve, 1935
Synonyms
Dendrobates ventrimaculatus

The Reticulated Poison Frog, also known as the Dendrobate À Ventre Tacheté or Ranitomeya ventrimaculata (previously known as Dendrobates Ventrimaculatus) is a species of poison dart frog. It is found in two separate areas: one in the tropical lowlands along the upper Amazon and possibly its tributaries (Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, and Peru); and one in Guyana, French Guiana, and Suriname. Its natural habitat are trees, and sometimes also the ground, of tropical rainforests. It is threatened by habitat loss.

Toxicity

R. ventrimaculata secretes poison through glands in the skin which protect it from fungi and bacteria as well as from predators, which are also warned to stay clear by the aposematic coloration. It is therefore often included among the dart-poison frogs, although its venom is comparatively weak. Similar to them, D. ventrimaculatus produces its poison by ingestion of certain insects, in this case a species of mites.

Description

The frog is active during the day and grows to a size of about 20 millimetres (0.79 in), with males smaller than females. Its base color is black, and it has yellow lines or dots on the back, whereas the belly has bluish or grayish color with interspersed black patches (hence the name "ventrimaculatus"); the color of the belly continues into a netlike pattern on the legs.

R. ventrimaculata reach adulthood at an age of six months. The females attach four to eight eggs to leaves beneath the water level, where they are inseminated by the male. The tadpoles leave the eggs after 12 to 16 days, the male carries them one by one to puddles or similar minute bodies of water; as the tadpoles are omnivorous and cannibalistic, they are separated from each other in the process. Metamorphosis into a frog is complete after 60 to 80 days; at which point they become independent of their parents but tend to remain in close proximity.

See also

• Red-backed Poison Frog
• Splash-backed Poison Frog
• Ranitomeya