there are 138 types of poison dart frogs.
there are 138 types of poison dart frogs.
how many types of poison dart frogs are there?
138
the operational sex ratio in the poison dart frog family is mostly female biased. this leads to a few characteristic behaviors and traits found in organisms with an uneven sex ratio. in general, females have a choice of mate. in turn, males show brighter coloration, are territorial, and are aggressive toward other males. females select mates based on coloration (mainly dorsal), calling perch location, and territory.









































section::::taxonomy.









































dart frogs are the focus of major phylogenetic studies, and undergo taxonomic changes frequently. the family dendrobatidae was revised taxonomically in 2006 and contains 13 genera, with about 170 species.









































section::::taxonomy.:color morphs.
poison dart frog
many poison dart frogs secrete lipophilic alkaloid toxins such as allopumiliotoxin 267a, batrachotoxin, epibatidine, histrionicotoxin, and pumiliotoxin 251d through their skin. alkaloids in the skin glands of poison frogs serve as a chemical defense against predation, and they are therefore able to be active alongside potential predators during the day. about 28 structural classes of alkaloids are known in poison frogs. the most toxic of poison dart frog species is "phyllobates terribilis". it is argued that dart frogs do not synthesize their poisons, but sequester the chemicals from arthropod prey items, such as ants, centipedes and mites – the diet-toxicity hypothesis. because of this, captive-bred animals do not possess significant levels of toxins as they are reared on diets that do not contain the alkaloids sequestered by wild populations. in fact, new studies suggest that the maternal frogs of some species lay unfertilized eggs, which are laced with trace amounts of alkaloids, to feed the tadpoles. this behavior shows that the poisons are introduced from a very young age. nonetheless, the captive-bred frogs retain the ability to accumulate alkaloids when they are once again provided an alkaloid-containing diet. despite the toxins used by some poison dart frogs, some predators have developed the ability to withstand them. one is the snake "erythrolamprus epinephalus", which has developed immunity to the poison.
poison dart frog