The cream-backed poison frog (''Hyloxalus subpunctatus'') is a species of

frog A frog is any member of a diverse and largely carnivorous group of short-bodied, tailless amphibians composing the order Anura (ανοὐρά, literally ''without tail'' in Ancient Greek). The oldest fossil "proto-frog" ''Triadobatrachus'' is ...

in the family Dendrobatidae

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found else ...

to Colombia. Its natural

habitat In ecology, the term habitat summarises the array of resources, physical and biotic factors that are present in an area, such as to support the survival and reproduction of a particular species. A species habitat can be seen as the physical ...

s are subtropical or tropical, high-altitude

grassland A grassland is an area where the vegetation is dominated by grasses ( Poaceae). However, sedge ( Cyperaceae) and rush ( Juncaceae) can also be found along with variable proportions of legumes, like clover, and other herbs. Grasslands occur na ...

, shrub-dominated

wetland A wetland is a distinct ecosystem that is flooded or saturated by water, either permanently (for years or decades) or seasonally (for weeks or months). Flooding results in oxygen-free (anoxic) processes prevailing, especially in the soils. The p ...

s, swamps, intermittent freshwater

marsh A marsh is a wetland that is dominated by herbaceous rather than woody plant species.Keddy, P.A. 2010. Wetland Ecology: Principles and Conservation (2nd edition). Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK. 497 p Marshes can often be found a ...

es, rural gardens,

urban area An urban area, built-up area or urban agglomeration is a human settlement with a high population density and infrastructure of built environment. Urban areas are created through urbanization and are categorized by urban morphology as cities ...

s, and heavily degraded former forests. The cream-backed poison frog is one of the less-toxic of the family. It has undergone several name changes since its discovery. Originally called ''

Dendrobates ''Dendrobates'' is a genus of poison dart frogs native to Central and South America. It once contained numerous species, but most originally placed in this genus have been split off into other genera such as ''Adelphobates'', '' Ameerega'', '' A ...

subpunctatus'', its name was changed to ''Colostethus subpuctatus'' once the family Dendrobatidae underwent a division of species and genera other than ''Dendrobates'' were coined. Recently, minor skeletal differences have separated the cream-backed poison frog from the rocket frogs, and placed it in another genus entirely, ''

Hyloxalus ''Hyloxalus'' is a genus of poison dart frogs, family Dendrobatidae. The genus is distributed in Central and South America, from Panama south to Peru (along the Pacific coast), along with Venezuela, Colombia, and Ecuador. They also inhabit the e ...

''.

Toxin

Like many of the genus ''Hyloxalus'', ''H. subpunctatus'' possesses fairly weak toxins, compared to those of other dendrobatids. It may be one of the most primitive of dendrobatids, as it has only begun to develop skin alkaloids and is still fairly drab in coloration. Its poison is already an effective defense mechanism; if tasted by a predator, the alkaloids in the frog's skin cause extreme pain and unpleasant taste. This will usually discourage a predator from attacking a cream-backed poison frog more than once. However, ''H. subpunctatus'' is still vulnerable to more determined predators, such as snakes, which is further evidence that it may be a fairly young species compared to other inedible or even deadly dendrobatids.

Description

The cream-backed poison frog is one of the smallest dendrobatids, reaching a length of 2 cm when fully grown. As stated above, it has poorly developed alkaloid poisons in its skin that make it unpalatable to predators, but it still mostly depends on its body camouflage for protection. Like many of the genus ''Hyloxalus'', it has fairly drab coloration. Its main body is wood brown, with cream-colored stripes running down the length of its back (hence the frog's common name) and flanks that range from dark, smoky gray to inky black. ''H. subpunctatus'' may be one of the most primitive poison dart frogs, as it bears several similarities to hylids, such as long, narrow toes with suckerlike discs at the ends to help it grip leaves, slight webbing between its toes, and cryptic coloration. While hylids use the suckers on their toes to climb trees, the cream backed poison frog uses them to give it a good grip as it clambers through the leaf litter. Other dendrobatids lack webbing on their feet, and the discs at the tips of their toes are not adhesive. In addition, the cream-backed poison frog is one of the few species of dendrobatids that does not care for its young, another sign that it is a fairly primitive frog.

Distribution and habitat

The cream-backed poison frog is native to the

Altiplano Cundiboyacense The Altiplano Cundiboyacense () is a high plateau located in the Eastern Cordillera of the Colombian Andes covering parts of the departments of Cundinamarca and Boyacá. The altiplano corresponds to the ancient territory of the Muisca. The Alt ...

highland region of the Eastern Cordillera in Boyacá, Cundinamarca and Meta Departments of central Colombia, at altitudes between above sea level. Its habitat is open areas, marshes, wetlands, forest edges, and ' páramo. It does not tolerate waters polluted by urban or agricultural runoffs.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q3005518 Hyloxalus Amphibians described in 1899 Amphibians of Colombia Amphibians of the Andes Páramo fauna