Silverstone's poison frog (''Ameerega silverstonei'';Grant, T. et al., (2006).
Phylogenetic systematics of dart-poison frogs and their relatives (Amphibia: Athesphatanura: Dendrobatidae)
' (PDF). Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History, 299, 1–262 formerly ''Epipedobates silverstonei'') 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 ...

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 Peru. 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 moist lowland

forest A forest is an area of land dominated by trees. Hundreds of definitions of forest are used throughout the world, incorporating factors such as tree density, tree height, land use, legal standing, and ecological function. The United Nations' ...

s and

river A river is a natural flowing watercourse, usually freshwater, flowing towards an ocean, sea, lake or another river. In some cases, a river flows into the ground and becomes dry at the end of its course without reaching another body of wate ...

Description

Silverstone's poison frog is a large Dendrobatid frog with males growing to a

snout–vent length Snout–vent length (SVL) is a morphometric measurement taken in herpetology from the tip of the snout to the most posterior opening of the cloacal slit (vent)."direct line distance from tip of snout to posterior margin of vent" It is the most c ...

of about and females to . The head has a rounded sloping snout and is as wide as the body. Males have a small vocal sac in the throat. The skin of the head, fore limbs and underparts is smooth while that of the dorsal surface and hind limbs is granular. The fingers are flattened and have expanded discs at their tips. There is no webbing between the digits of either hands or feet. The head and back of this frog is orange-red, sometimes with black spots or mottling, especially towards the rear. The hind limbs are largely black and the forelimbs and underparts vary in colour, sometimes being black and sometimes orange. The palms of the hands and feet and the underside of the digits are grey or orange.

Distribution

Silverstone's poison frog is

to Peru. It is found in Cordillera Azul mountain range in Huánuco Department, where it is found at an altitude of about above sea level. Its range is not precisely known and might be wider than is thought. It has also been introduced to the vicinity of Tarapoto in the San Martín Region but the result of this introduction is unknown.

Biology

Silverstone's poison frog is a terrestrial species that is found among the leaf litter of the forest floor in tropical montane forests. Males are territorial during the breeding season and call to attract females. The eggs are laid in small clutches of about thirty eggs in a closely packed single layer underneath leaves. The male guards them till they hatch. He then carries them on his back to a suitable ephemeral pool or water-filled crevice where the tadpoles develop until undergoing

metamorphosis Metamorphosis is a biological process by which an animal physically develops including birth or hatching, involving a conspicuous and relatively abrupt change in the animal's body structure through cell growth and differentiation. Some inse ...

. The bright colors of this frog probably deter potential predators and this frog is known to be distasteful to snakes.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q2842565 Ameerega Amphibians of Peru Amphibians described in 1979 Endemic fauna of Peru Endangered animals Taxonomy articles created by Polbot