Anthony's poison arrow frog

Anthony's poison arrow frog
An individual in the Leipzig Botanical Garden, Germany
Conservation status
Near Threatened  (IUCN 3.1)
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Amphibia
Order:	Anura
Family:	Dendrobatidae
Genus:	Epipedobates
Species:	E. anthonyi
Binomial name
Epipedobates anthonyi (Noble, 1921)

Anthony's poison arrow frog (Epipedobates anthonyi) is a poison dart frog species in the Dendrobatidae family found in Ecuador and Peru. Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical dry forests, subtropical or tropical moist lowland forests, rivers, freshwater marshes, intermittent freshwater marshes, rural gardens, and heavily degraded former forests. It is threatened by habitat loss.

Description

Anthony's poison arrow frog has a snout-to-vent length of about 19 to 26 mm (0.7 to 1.0 in). The hind legs are short and robust. The dorsal surface is usually dark red or brown and there are several yellowish-white oblique stripes and a central longitudinal stripe.

Distribution and habitat

Anthony's poison arrow frog is known only from a number of locations in southwestern Ecuador and northwestern Peru at heights of between 153 and 1,769 m (502 and 5,804 ft) above sea level. Its natural habitat is the leaf litter on the floor of tropical dry forests, especially near streams.

Biology

Anthony's poison arrow frog is diurnal and terrestrial. Males are territorial. A clutch of 15 to 40 eggs is laid on the ground among leaf litter and the male guards them till they hatch in about two weeks. He then carries them on his back to a suitable water body where the tadpoles develop to metamorphosis in about sixty days.

Status

Anthony's poison arrow frog is listed as "Near Threatened" by the IUCN. Its population seems stable but it has a limited range, estimated to be less than 20,000 square kilometres (7,700 sq mi), and its habitat is being degraded by pollution from agrochemicals. It is also collected for medicinal use.