Tag: Silverstones Poison Frog

Further research is needed into the distribution, population status, ecology, and threats affecting the Silverstone's poison frog, especially with regards to the impact of illegal trade.

Silverstone's poison frog tadpoles are grayish-brown with insignificant, keratinized, V-shaped beaks and delicately toothed mouths.

Teeth are present on the Silverstone's poison frog's maxillary arch.

There have been no observations or records of Silverstone's poison frog courtship.

In the past, the Silverstone's poison frog's habitat had been somewhat protected, but conservation of other areas is required, as is enforcement on smuggling activities.

The Silverstone's poison frog is a target for illegal collection and is consistently smuggled for the international pet trade, via Pucallpa in the Ucayali Region.

Silverstone's poison frogs are wary and usually quick to hide, and seem to have some preference for edge situations.

The upper third of the Silverstone's poison frog's iris is pale bronze with some black suffusion, turning black on the lower two-thirds, with possible minute bronze flecking.

There is little sexual dimorphism in the Silverstone's poison frog, except in size, as females max at 42.8 mm. in snouth-vent length and males max at 38.3 mm.

Female silverstone's poison frogs lay about 30 eggs terrestrially in a closely packed single layer underneath leaves and leaf-litter.

Unlike the gray or blackish-colored flesh of most Dedrobates and Phyloobates, the Silverstone's poison frog has pinkish white flesh when freshly skinned.

The male Silverstone's poison frog guards the eggs until they hatch, then carries them on his back to a suitable ephemeral pool where the tadpoles develop until metamorphosis.

Due to harvesting of the Silverstone's poison frog for the pet trade, the population is thought to be decreasing.

When he reaches sexual maturity, a male Silverstone's poison frog uses the subgular vocal sac in his throat and vocal slits in the mouth to make mating trills to attract females.

There is interpopulational variation in the color pattern of the Silverstone's poison frog, and perhaps also in the ontogenetic development of the pattern.

The Silverstone's poison frog's circular tympanum, or eardrum, is concealed post-dorsally and is greater than 50% of the eye.

Due to the constantly wet climate, Silverstone's poison frogs probably breed throughout the year and females are assumed to lay eggs more than once a year.

The Silverstone's poison frog's fingers are flattened and have small, expanded discs at the tips with no webbing between the digits.

The Silverstone's poison frog is threatened by agriculture, habitat destruction, and illegal smuggling for the international pet trade.

Prior to the Silverstone's poison frog's official description in 1979 as Ameerega silverstonei, it was known under incorrect names, such as Phyllobates bicolor or Epipedobates silverstonei.

The Silverstone's poison frog is "Endangered" due to its small, declining, threat-defined range and continuing decline of mature individuals due to illegal harvesting.

The skin of the Silverstone's poison frog's lower body and hind limbs is coarsely granular, gradually smoothing out in the skin of the head, forelimbs and ventral surfaces.

The Silverstone's poison frog is not a migrant.

The Silverstone's poison frog is known to be distasteful to snakes, but not much more is known of the frog's predators.

The Silverstone's poison frog's hind limbs are moderately long and the toe discs tend to be slightly wider than the finger discs.

To defend against predators, the Silverstone's poison frog's skin secretions contain small amounts of pumiliotoxin-A alkaloids that lack great potency.

The Silverstone's poison frog's head is generally as wide as the body and is characterized with a sloping and rounded snout.

The Silverstone's poison frog gains its brightly orange, red, and black colors at 1 year of age to deter potential predators.

The Silverstone's poison frog is endemic to the Cordillera Azul mountain range on the eastern side of the high Andes, Huánuco Region in Peru and can be found at elevations from 1,200-1,800 m. above sea level.

The Silverstone's poison frog is a diurnal, terrestrial and freshwater species that is found among the leaf litter of subtropical or tropical moist montane forests and wetlands.