''Ranitomeya summersi'', sometimes referred to as Summers' poison frog, is a species of

poison dart frog 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 Dendrobatidae which are native to tropical Central and South America. These species are ...

s found in the central

Huallaga River The Huallaga River is a tributary of the Marañón River, part of the Amazon Basin. Old names for this river include ''Guallaga'' and ''Rio de los Motilones''. The Huallaga is born on the slopes of the Andes in central Peru and joins the Marañón ...

drainage and adjacent

Cordillera Azul National Park Cordillera Azul National Park () is a protected area in Peru. It protects part of the Ucayali moist forests ecoregion. History In 1963, the Biavo-Cordillera Azul National Forest was established, spanning 2,178,000 hectares. In 1997, this area ...

in central Peru. Before 2008, the species was considered a subspecies of ''

Ranitomeya fantastica ''Ranitomeya'' is a genus of dart poison frogs found in Panama and South America south to Peru and Brazil, possibly into Bolivia. Taxonomy In 2006 Grant ''et al.'' revised the systematics of poison dart frogs and placed many species formerly cla ...

''. 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 ...

considers it an endangered species because of limited habitat range, habitat loss, and collection for the pet trade. They lay their eggs primarily in ''

Dieffenbachia ''Dieffenbachia'' , commonly known as dumb cane or leopard lily, is a genus of tropical flowering plants in the family Araceae. It is native to the New World Tropics from Mexico and the West Indies south to Argentina. Some species are widely cul ...

'' plants and in holes in trees.

Morphology

''Ranitomeya summersi'' is one of the larger species of poison dart frogs. It has an orange and black banded pattern and a large snout to vent length. Males and females exhibit no sexual dimorphism in snout to vent length, exhibiting a range from 15.5 mm to 20.4 mm. This species possesses a black marking over the eyes extending past the tympanum giving them the appearance of a mask. The species is a Batesian mimicry of

Ranitomeya Variabilis ''Ranitomeya'' is a genus of dart poison frogs found in Panama and South America south to Peru and Brazil, possibly into Bolivia. Taxonomy In 2006 Grant ''et al.'' revised the systematics of poison dart frogs and placed many species formerly cl ...

. While ''Ranitomeya imitator'' can copy the appearance of ''R. summersi, R. summersi'' can be distinguished from the imitator by its soft buzz call which can only be heard less than 1 m away, and its dark mask which covers the tympanum. In contrast the ''Ranitomeya imitator'' calls are much louder and can be heard form 5 m away.

References

Ranitomeya Endemic fauna of Peru Amphibians of Peru Frogs of South America Amphibians described in 2008 {{dendrobatidae-stub