Details
Dendrobates leucomelas
The yellow-banded poison dart frog is a bright black-and-yellow frog of northern South America. Small but conspicuous, it calls by day from humid tropical forest.
Map: Ecoregions 2017 © RESOLVE (CC BY 4.0) · Natural Earth (PD)
It occurs in Venezuela, Guyana, northern Brazil and nearby Colombia. Damp forest floor, rocks, logs and stream margins are typical microhabitats.
Adults are about 3-5 cm long. Yellow to orange bands and spots contrast with a black body, with pattern width and arrangement varying by population.
Active by day, males advertise from small territories. Several frogs may occupy the same favorable patch of forest.
Ants, mites, tiny beetles, termites and other minute arthropods are eaten. In the wild, prey-derived alkaloids make the skin toxic.
Males guard eggs in damp sites, then carry tadpoles on their backs to water. Small pools and plant-held water are often used.
The species is widespread, but logging and collection for the pet trade can create local pressure. Captive animals lack the full wild toxicity.
