Green and Black Poison Dart Frog
Dendrobates auratus
10.46, -84.07
Field Notes
Description:
Dendrobates auratus, also known as the green and black poison dart frog or the green and black poison arrow frog, and sometimes mint poison frog (not to be confused with the mint-green color morph of Phyllobates terribilis), is a brightly colored member of the order Anura native to Central America and northwestern parts of South America.
Like all poison dart frogs, green-and-black poison dart frogs gather in large groups before mating. They squabble over territories; eventually each individual male frog clears a small patch for himself. Females wander among the males, the latter then attempt to impress the former with their bird-like mating calls. Once a male has caught the attention of a female, he leads her to a site he has selected for egg deposition. The female lays her eggs, which he then fertilizes. In approximately 14 days, these hatch into tadpoles. Their parents (typically the male) then carry the tadpoles into the canopy, with the tadpoles sticking to the mucus on their parents' backs. The parents then deposit their tadpoles into the small pools of water that accumulate in the center of bromeliads, and guard the tadpoles while they feed on algae and small invertebrates that inhabit the tiny pool.
Habitat:
Seen in primary rainforest in Selva Verde, Costa Rica.
It is found in lowland moist and wet forest, where the Poison-dart frogs live in undisturbed areas or abandoned clearings. It may also inhabit cacao plantations. In Selva Verde they are very common on the forest floor and can be seen during the morning or afternoon because when it is too hot they stay under the leaf litter or under rotting logs to balance their temperature.
Notes:
The green-and-black poison frog, while not the most toxic poison dart frog, is still a highly toxic animal. The very small amount of poison the frog possesses is still enough to make a human ill. Like most poison dart frogs, however, the green-and-black poison dart frog will only release its poison if it feels that it is threatened, and wild specimens can be handled if the human holding it is calm and relaxed.
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