trunk with no tail. Tadpoles use gills to breathe, unlike the adults, which breathe through lungs. Tadpoles also lack legs and have tails, which is appropriate for their watery habitat. Another important physical characteristic of D. auratus is the poison glands located throughout the surface of their body. Their bright colors are believed to encourage predators with color vision to avoid the frogs. The boldly contrasting patterns may be aposematic to predators that lack color vision, although this has not been proven. Approximately 90 alkaloids have been identified from all species of dendrobatids <<Dendrobatidae>.. [sic] (Myers & Daly, 1976)”
Biology
From Twomey and Brown (2017):
“Adult frogs are diurnal and active during the whole day. In the drier habitats of the Pacific versant, many morphs are inactive during the dry season and dwell the leaf litter only after rain showers. Both sexes tend to be territorial. Females try to monopolize strong males and are very aggressive towards female counterparts. Depositing of eggs and the larval development occurs in the leaf litter. Brood care is done in general by the male. Hatching tadpoles are transported separately by the male to small seasonal pools in tree holes, big leaves, or in small depressions of river rocks. Tadpoles feed mainly on arthropod larvae and tend towards cannibalism if other food is lacking.”
From Solís et al. (2008):
“The species is polygynous; females actively compete for males and attempt to guard their mate from others. The species shows a high degree of paternal care. After oviposition upon leaf-litter the male guards and cares for the clutch of three to 13 eggs (Silverstone, 1975; Schafer, 1981; Heselhaus, 1992). On hatching (13-16 days in captivity) the tadpoles are carried by the male to a stagnant water body in a tree-hole, the leaf axil of a bromeliad (up to 30m from the forest floor), or a small ground pool (Eaton, 1941; van Wijngaarden, 1990). Wild tadpoles feed on protozoans and rotifers, and metamorphose after 39-89 days; in captivity, sexual maturity is attained at between six and 15 months (Eaton, 1941; Silverstone, 1975; Summers, 1990; Zimmermann and Zimmermann, 1994). A reduction in the number of egg clutches and tadpoles maintained by the male results in a more rapid development of the eggs and higher growth rate of tadpoles (Wells, 1978; Summers, 1990).”
Human Uses
From Somma (2018):
“The Hawaiian populations on Oahu may be the principle source of stock for the commercial pet trade (Walls, 1994, 1998).”
Diseases
From OIE (2018):
“[…], Bd [Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis] has been identified on six continents, from two amphibian orders, 14 families and in over 350 species. Collectively, it can be stated that most, if
5
