Excidobates mysteriosus

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Excidobates mysteriosus
Excidobates mysteriosus

Excidobates mysteriosus

Systematics
Subordination : Neobatrachia
Superfamily : Dendrobatoidea
Family : Poison Dart Frogs (Dendrobatidae)
Subfamily : Dendrobatinae
Genre : Excidobates
Type : Excidobates mysteriosus
Scientific name
Excidobates mysteriosus
( Myers , 1982)

Excidobates mysteriosus is a species of frog and one of two known species of the genus Excidobates . It was previouslyassigned tothe genus Dendrobates .

features

Copy in living bromeliad

Excidobates mysteriosus is brown with white spots and stripes. The females appear slightly fuller, but the difference is only clearly noticeable when the males are called. The males have internal vocal sacs . They are 29–34 mm tall.

habitat

The Excidobates mysteriosus is endemic to Peru , where it colonizes the bushes of the rainforests at over 900 meters above sea level. Their habitats are close to humans, deforestation, fires and a wave of smuggling in the 1990s resulted in only three areas in Peru today where the population is stable. The IUCN bought these territories in order to be able to better observe the animals and their reproduction.

Way of life

Excidobates mysteriosus prefers the bromeliad species Aechmea nudicaulis as habitat . He lives in this so-called living bromeliad, which seems to have the right leaf size with appropriately large funnels and which is always filled with water in the rainforest. In addition, a stable water temperature within the water funnel is guaranteed. 35 degrees Celsius by day and 16 degrees Celsius by night are the normal average temperatures of these rainforests.

Reproduction

The animals become sexually mature after 10 or 12 months. The males call quite loudly and often with a rattlesnake-like call for the females. The females willingly follow the males to a suitable bromeliad funnel and lay the spawn (4-8 eggs). It can take up to several hours for the first call to finally lay eggs.

Poison

Excidobates mysteriosus has a natural skin toxin that is supposed to protect against fungal and bacterial attack. It is not entirely clear where the poison comes from, but it is believed that it comes from the diet in the natural habitat. In captivity, the animals lose their toxicity, especially the offspring. However, the frogs' skin toxin has to get into the bloodstream, for example into a gaping wound, in order for it to be effective.

Protection status

Excidobates mysteriosus was rediscovered by Rainer Schulte in 1989 (Schulte 1990). The range is estimated to be less than 5000 km². It is on the CITES Appendix II. The IUCN status is EN Endangered (endangered).

literature

  • KOCH Claudia, In the valleys of the Andes: still unknown and already threatened in TERRARIA No. 14 November / December 2008, pages 85–88
  • TWOMEY, E. & JL BROWN, Spotted Poison Frogs: Rediscovery of a Lost Species and a New Genus (Anura: Dendrobatidae) from Northwestern Peru. Herpetologica 64 (1), 2008: pages 121-137
  • KASSAT Mario, keeping and breeding of the "mysterious" poison dart frog Dendrobates mysteriosus MYERS, 1982 in the terrarium. Elaphe issue 1/2008 - February 20, 2008, pages 28–36
  • LÖTTERS Stefan, JUNGFER Karl-Heinz, HENKEL Friedrich Wilhelm, SCHMIDT Wolfgang, poison dart frogs - biology, keeping, species, Edition Chimaira, Frankfurt am Main, 2007, pages 625–626
  • CHRISTMANN Siegfried P. DENDROBATIDAE - Poison dart frogs - The fantastic journey through Ecuador - Peru - Columbia, Volume III The Histrionicus Group, 1st edition of the new edition 2004, page 15, page 173-178
  • MYERS, CW Spotted poison frogs: Descriptions of three new Dendrobates from western Amazonia, and resurrection of a lost species from "Chiriqui". - 1982 American Museum of Natural History, 2721
  • SCHULTE, R. (1990). Redescubrimiento y redefinicion de Dendrobates mysteriosus (Myers 1982) de la Cordillera del Condor. Boletin de Lima, 70, 57-68.

Web links

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