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Dec 05, 2010 Features / Columnists, Interesting Creatures in Guyana
The Blue Poison Frog which is scientifically called Dendrobates azureus is found mostly in the southernmost part of the South American country of Suriname in a region known as the Sipaliwini Savannah, but on some rare occasions have been found in Guyana. It is known to inhabit small isolated forest areas surrounded by the dry, prairie-like savannah at elevations from 315 to 430 metres. However, the forest habitat of this frog is rather humid and warm with temperatures ranging from 22 to 27 degrees Celsius during the day to 20 degrees Celsius at night.
This rare frog prefers a dark, moist environment, living only near small streams among moss-covered rocks and it typically remains on the ground, but has been found in trees at heights of up to five metres.
It is a mid-sized dendrobatid frog weighing about three grams and having a length ranging from 3 to 4.5 centimetres. And it is brightly coloured which serves as a warning to would-be predators of its poisonous properties. In fact, its skin is covered with a myriad of glands that secrete alkaloid poisons capable of paralyzing, even killing predators.
The coloration of the frog is an azure-blue hue on the limbs, a sky-blue on its dorsal surface, and a darker blue on its ventral surface. An irregular pattern of dark blue and black spots of various sizes cover this background coloration with the majority of the spotting located on its back as well as head. The pattern of spots is unique to each frog and thus serves as a “fingerprint” to differentiate between individuals.
Sometimes, the ventral surface of the body has a dark blue or black mid-belly stripe. Its skin is generally smooth, but often portions of the posterior ventral surface and thighs have a granular texture. This frog has four toes per foot; each of which has a wide, flattened tip and a suction cup pad used to help it grip in the slippery environment it inhabits.
Males and females are quite similar in appearance, however, the female is slightly larger and plumper than the male, with her average body length about 4.5 cm and his only 4 cm. Males have larger toe-tips, specifically those on the second, third, and fourth digits and in addition, these toe-tips are heart-shaped in males and round in females.
On the other hand, the young of frogs are much different from the adults given that the tadpole larvae are characterized by a long tail used for locomotion in their free-swimming existence. The tadpoles have a head-body and on average are approximately 10 mm in length, 6 mm of which is made up of the tail. The young also lack legs and breathe by means of gills instead of lungs. The frog undergoes a metamorphosis in which it starts out as an egg, then hatches from the egg as a tadpole, and finally develops into an adult frog. The incubation period for the eggs is about 14 to 18 days.
After hatching, the tadpole metamorphoses into an adult in 10 to 12 weeks. The process of sex ascription in the Blue Poison Frog at this time is still unknown. The frog breeds seasonally in the wild, usually during the rainy season (February and March). In captivity, it is known to breed year round. Males position themselves on a rock or a leaf and produce quiet calls in order to attract a female. They then follow these calls to locate the male and once found, females fight aggressively over the male. Afterwards, the victorious female begins the courtship ritual by gently stroking his snout and dorsal surface with her forelegs. Courtship may also involve chasing and wrestling between the male and female.
Finally, the male leads the female to a secluded location of his choosing near a water source to mate and lay eggs. Unlike most frogs which lay their eggs in water, the eggs of this species are placed in consistently-moist, mossy areas underneath rocks or logs. The female lays her eggs in the territory of the male which he aggressively defends. Both the female and male moisten and clean the place where the eggs will be laid.
The male usually is the primary caretaker of the eggs, but it is not uncommon for the female to tend to them as well. As the primary caretaker, the male not only looks after the eggs, but he also makes sure to keep them moist by excreting water on them. After about 14 to 18 days, the eggs hatch and emerge as tadpoles.
The male then carries the tadpoles on his back from the egg-laying land site to a relatively small pool of water such as that within the centre of a bromeliad plant, a leaf axil, or a tiny tree hole. Sometimes the female also helps in this transportation of the tadpoles. Oftentimes, the tadpoles are placed in separate pools as they are cannibalistic.
After this transport, the male’s care of the young ends but the female, however, frequently visits the tadpoles to lay unfertilized eggs providing them with food. Once the tadpoles metamorphose into adults, the parental care of the female ends and the young frogs are on their own.
Essentially, the total parental care provided for the young ranges from 12 to 14 weeks. Unlike most frog species, which practice the mating ritual of amplexus, males of this species of frog do not display this behaviour. The total time to independence for the frogs is about 84 to 102 days and both sexes reach sexual maturity at two years of age. The lifespan of the Blue Poison Frog is about four to six years in the wild. In captivity it is known to live on average about 10 years, and can survive for up to 12 years.
The Blue Poison Frog is an insectivore, but also eats non-insect arthropods as well. Its diet consists of ants, beetles, flies, mites, spiders, termites, maggots, and caterpillars. In captivity, its diet consists primarily of crickets and fruit flies. Interestingly, the toxic compounds (poisons) in the skin of the frog, known as lipophilic alkaloids, are found in high percentages within its prey, especially in ants. Thus, upon eating prey, the compounds are absorbed into the skin of the frog providing it with a defense mechanism.
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