Lehmann's poison frog or the red-banded poison frog (''Oophaga lehmanni'') is a species of

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

s in 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 and South America. T ...

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 elsew ...

to a small part of western

Colombia Colombia (, ; ), officially the Republic of Colombia, is a country in South America with insular regions in North America—near Nicaragua's Caribbean coast—as well as in the Pacific Ocean. The Colombian mainland is bordered by the Car ...

. 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 submontane tropical rainforests. It is threatened by

habitat loss Habitat destruction (also termed habitat loss and habitat reduction) is the process by which a natural habitat becomes incapable of supporting its native species. The organisms that previously inhabited the site are displaced or dead, thereby ...

and collection for the pet trade, and the

IUCN The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN; officially International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources) is an international organization working in the field of nature conservation and sustainable use of natu ...

lists it as being " critically endangered". It was named after Colombian

conservation biologist Conservation biology is the study of the conservation of nature and of Earth's biodiversity with the aim of protecting species, their habitats, and ecosystems from excessive rates of extinction and the erosion of biotic interactions. It is an int ...

Federico Carlos Lehmann.

Description

Lehmann's poison frog has a smooth skin and exhibits aposematic colouration, which warns predators that it is inedible. There are red, orange and yellow morphs of this frog. The background colour is black or dark brown which contrasts with the two bright, broad bands of colour round the body and further coloured bands on the limbs. The first toe is shorter than the second and the toes of males have silver tips. This frog grows to a snout-to-vent length of . It is very similar in appearance to the

harlequin poison frog The harlequin poison frog, also known as harlequin poison-dart frog (''Oophaga histrionica''), is a species of poison dart frog endemic to the Chocó region of western Colombia. The frog is normally found on the ground of tropical rain forests, a ...

(''Oophaga histrionicus''), a species with which it can hybridise, and there is ongoing debate as to whether it is in fact a separate species. There are distinct differences in the calls of the males between northern and southern populations.

Distribution

Lehmann's poison frog is endemic to Colombia where it is found in tropical forests in the drainage of the

Anchicayá River The Anchicayá River in western Colombia has its headwaters in the Farallones de Cali and flows northwest into the Pacific Ocean at Buenaventura Bay. This watershed is known for its excellent biodiversity, especially with birds, amphibians and b ...

to the west of

Dagua Dagua () is a town and municipality located in the Department of Valle del Cauca, Colombia Colombia (, ; ), officially the Republic of Colombia, is a country in South America with insular regions in North America—near Nicaragua's ...

in Valle del Cauca Department, as well as in one locality in Chocó Department, all on the slopes of the Cordillera Occidental. Its altitudinal range is . There are several separate populations and the total area of occupancy is less than .

Biology

Lehmann's poison frog is diurnal and primarily feeds on small insects. It is found on the forest floor and in low vegetation. Breeding takes place at the end of the rainy season. The male chooses a suitable location and calls repeatedly to attract a female. She deposits a small number of large eggs on leaves up to 120 cm (4 ft) above the forest floor where the male fertilises them. He keeps them moist and rotates them occasionally and after two to four weeks he carries them on his back and deposits them singly in small temporary water pools in such places as hollows in trees, water-filled

bromeliad 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, ...

rosettes and

bamboo Bamboos are a diverse group of evergreen perennial flowering plants making up the subfamily Bambusoideae of the grass family Poaceae. Giant bamboos are the largest members of the grass family. The origin of the word "bamboo" is uncertain, bu ...

stalks. Here the tadpoles develop and the female periodically deposits unfertilised eggs in the water on which they feed. If there are several tadpoles in any water body,

cannibalism Cannibalism is the act of consuming another individual of the same species as food. Cannibalism is a common ecological interaction in the animal kingdom and has been recorded in more than 1,500 species. Human cannibalism is well documented, b ...

may occur. In the wild, Lehmann's poison frog is toxic, but in captivity it loses its toxicity because this is derived from its diet.

Status

Lehmann's poison frog is only found in a very small area of Colombia. It is fully protected in its native country, considered critically endangered by the

and listed on CITES Appendix II. Once a common species in its tiny range, recent surveys have found that it is now very rare. Threats to its survival are the degradation of its habitat due to timber extraction and illegal agriculture, and collection for the pet trade. It is present in the

Parque Nacional Natural Farallones de Cali Farallones de Cali is a cluster of mountains in the West Andes of Colombia. It is located west of the city of Cali and gives rise to many of the rivers that provide water and electricity to Cali. The PNN Farallones de Cali encompasses in the ...

. In an attempt of countering the continued illegal collection of wild individuals, a farm that breeds this species and other Colombian poison frogs in captivity has been started in Colombia, both providing legal frogs for the pet market (instead of illegal wild caught) and an income for the local community.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q28005123 Oophaga Poison dart frogs Amphibians described in 1976 Amphibians of Colombia Endemic fauna of Colombia Taxonomy articles created by Polbot