Blue Poison Dart Frog: Dendrobates tinctorius (formerly Dendrobates azureus)
In the Wild
Description:
 Light-ish blue body with black spots on the body; darker blue legs
 Bright coloring serves as a warning to skin toxins
 Weigh 3-8 grams
 Length ranging from 1.5-1.75 inches
 4 toes per foot; lack toe webbing
 Male has larger front toe pads
 Long tongue to snap up prey
Habitat and Range:
 Surinam, South America
o Southernmost portion of Surinam, in relict "forest islands" of the Sipaliwini
Savannah
 Live on the rainforest floor close to a water source; usually under cover such as moss or
rocks
o Mostly terrestrial but have been found in trees
 Primarily solitary except for mating
Diet


Wild: eat small arthropods
Zoo: fruit flies and crickets
Adaptations
 Toes each with a wide, flattened tip and a suction cup pad used to grip in the slippery
habitat
 Aposematic coloration: brightly colored skin serves as a warning to predators
o Their skin is toxic if ingested, and this serves as a powerful deterrent to most
predators
Lifespan
 Can live up to 10 years in captivity
 4 to 6 years in the wild
Ecosystem relationships
 Maintains the population of arthropods.
 There are few predators to dart frogs due to their toxicity, though there are reports of
some snakes and large spiders. However, tadpoles are prey to many animals, including
snakes and dragonfly larvae, as they have not yet developed their toxins.
Reproduction
 Males vocalizes to attract females
o Females locate male and then vie for his attention
o Females stroke the male’s snout and back
11/11/2010
Blue Poison Dart Frog: Dendrobates tinctorius (formerly Dendrobates azureus)









Breed during the rainy season
Unlike most frogs, this species does not go into amplexus.
o February and March
Lay 4-6 eggs
Eggs are placed in consistently moist, mossy area underneath rocks or logs in the male’s
territory, which he defends
14-18 days incubation
Both parents care for eggs
o Primarily the male – he helps keeps them most by excreting water on them
Once hatched the male (and sometimes female) carries tadpoles to a water source on
his back
o After transporting the tadpoles, the male no longer cares for them
o Female continues to care for them, often laying unfertilized eggs for them to eat
Tadpoles metamorphoses into an adult in 10 to 12 weeks
Sexual maturity at 2 years old
Activity
 Diurnal
Other “fun facts”
 Captive frogs are non-toxic
o Wild frogs build their toxicity by metabolizing the chemicals from their food.
o Captive frogs are not fed what they would eat in the wild, and therefore are nontoxic.
 The name “dart frog” comes from the use of their toxin to coat darts used in blow-dart
hunting by indigenous people in Columbia. This particular species is not one used by
them.
 Toxic frogs are immune to their own toxins.
 Blue poison dart frogs are not good swimmers (feet are not webbed), but great
climbers.
Conservation Status and Threats: Least Concern
 Habitat loss
o Deforestation for agriculture
o Slash & burn agriculture
 Pollution
 Over-collection for the exotic pet trade
 Global Amphibian Crisis
o Worldwide decline in wild populations of frogs, toads, and salamanders
observed in the past several decades
o More than one-third of the nearly 6,000 amphibian species known to science are
currently at risk of extinction
o Amphibians are an environmental indicator species
11/11/2010
Blue Poison Dart Frog: Dendrobates tinctorius (formerly Dendrobates azureus)

Susceptible to changes in the ecosystem due to their permeable skin and
ties to both land and water
o Chytrid Fungus
 Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis, or Bd, the fungus that causes
chytridiomycosis, the disease responsible for decimating amphibian
populations (chytrid for short)
 Bd is the only kind that infects vertebrates
 Can only be cured in captivity, but not prevented in the wild, as it
is naturally-occurring
 Chytrid fungus on every continent except Antarctica
 Theories on the rapid spread of the chytrid fungus:
 “Out of Africa” theory
o African Clawed Frogs
 Widespread exportation for pets and pregnancy
tests
 Are not fatally susceptible to chytrid
 Water (frogs are an indicator species!)
 Climate Change - cooling in Central & South America
o Chytrid’s temperature threshold: 84.2 degrees sensitive;
89.6 degrees fungus is killed
o Solutions to the Amphibian Crisis?
 First, we need to figure out how to eradicate the fungus in the wild.
 Secondly, we need to continue to grow in success with captive breeding
populations.
 The goal is to be able to re-introduce them into the wild once the fungus
is gone.
 Governments (and people in general) need to find a way to preserve and
maintain the remaining habitat, and educate future generations.
At the Zoo

Embassy poison dart frogs were born at the zoo in 2001 and donated to the Education
Department in 2003. Both are probably males.
What We Can Do



Make environmentally responsible lifestyle decisions to help conserve habitat –
conserve energy, reduce litter and pollution
Choose your pets carefully, the illegal pet trade threatens many other species
We can start in our own backyard!
o Sit outside and listen closely to the sound of frog calls in the evening. These are
the frogs nearest to you.
o Provide them with habitat by avoiding the temptation to over-landscape.
o Leave some woods, water, and even tall weeds undisturbed, and go easy on the
pesticide and fertilizer!
11/11/2010
Blue Poison Dart Frog: Dendrobates tinctorius (formerly Dendrobates azureus)
References:
 http://amphibiaweb.org/index.html
 http://animaldiversity.ummz.umich.edu/site/index.html
 http://www.amnh.org/exhibitions/frogs/vivarium/
11/11/2010