---
title: "What the sources say about the Harlequin Poison Frog | AnimalTracks.wiki"
description: "45 claims from the Harlequin Poison Frog profile, each beside the words of the source that backs it."
image: "https://animaltracks.wiki/images/animals/harlequin-poison-frog-1.webp"
canonical: "https://animaltracks.wiki/animals/harlequin-poison-frog/sources/"
---

# What the sources say about the Harlequin Poison Frog (*Oophaga histrionica*)

> 45 claims from the Harlequin Poison Frog profile, each beside the words of the source that backs it. A "..." marks a cut in a quote and [brackets] an insertion.

Profile: [Harlequin Poison Frog](https://animaltracks.wiki/animals/harlequin-poison-frog/)

## Oophaga histrionica. Animal Diversity Web, University of Michigan.

https://animaldiversity.org/accounts/Oophaga_histrionica/

| The page says | The source says |
| :--- | :--- |
| does not try to hide: it forages by day, relying on its warning colours | These frogs are diurnal, being able to forage during the day without the threat of predators, due to the bright warning (aposematic) colors. |
| It measures only 2.5 to 3.8 centimetres long | Harlequin poison dart frogs are small frogs, measuring only 1 to 1.5 inches (2.5 to 3.8 cm) |
| as a bright orange frog with black web markings all over its body | described the frog as bright orange with black web markings all over the body |
| Animal Diversity Web's 2001 account lists base colours of orange, yellow, red, white and powder-blue, with some colour forms varying from valley to valley | there are numerous color morphs of D. histrionicus recognized, some varying from valley to valley. The morphs range in base colors of bright to dull orange, yellow, red, white, and powder-blue. (note: 2001 is the account's own date: 'Trepanowski, P. 2001' and 'Last updated: 2001-12-10' on the page. Colour forms predate the 2018 split, so the page dates them) |
| The black webbing ranges from thin stripes to speckled, broken lines to an all-black frog with a few coloured spots | The reticulated pattern can range from a standard thin stripe width to speckled, incomplete lines to an all black frog with a few colored spots |
| the bright markings probably act as a warning to potential predators | The bright markings of D. histrionicus probably act as a warning to potential predators. |
| The frog does not make its toxin from scratch. | This toxin is collected from the prey of these frogs and then deposited in their skin. |
| it collects the toxin from its prey, mainly ants, termites, small beetles and other small arthropods in the leaf litter, and deposits it in its skin | This toxin is collected from the prey of these frogs and then deposited in their skin. ... Their primary food preferences are ants, termites, small beetles, and other small arthropods found in the leaf litter. |
| a highly toxic poison capable of repelling or even killing small predators | produce a highly toxic poison capable of repelling or even killing small predators |
| potentially dangerous to people who handle the frog | The skin toxins of this frog are potentially dangerous to humans who handle them |
| the skin toxin blocks nerve signals at the acetylcholine receptor of the neuromuscular junction | The toxin found in their skin blocks neural transmission at the acetylcholine receptor of the neuro-muscular junction (Ryan, 1997). (note: ADW's sentence follows one about poison dart frogs generally ('their skin'), so the body scopes it to poison dart frogs, not this species alone.) |
| Breeding runs through the rainy season | Poison dart frogs will breed throughout the rainy season. |
| A male calls from a perch with a trilling buzz to draw in a female | The males attempt to attract females by perching on a leaf and giving a trilling, buzzing call. |
| she lays her eggs on the surface of a leaf while he follows behind and fertilises them | The female lays her eggs on the surface of a leaf while the male follows behind her and deposits his sperm. |
| She stays by the clutch to guard it | the female will stay by her eggs to guard them |
| About ten days later, the tadpoles break free of the jelly-like egg mass and swim onto her back using their tails | After about ten days, the tadpoles break free from the jelly-like egg mass and use their tails to swim onto the mother's back. |
| she carries them one at a time to a separate pocket of water, usually pooled in a bromeliad's leaf axils | The female will transfer the tadpoles one at a time to pockets of water, usually in the axils of bromeliads (air plants). |
| The tadpoles are obligate egg feeders: she returns every other day to lay infertile eggs in the water for them to eat | D. histrionicus are obligate egg feeders, meaning to insure proper development, the tadpole must eat infertile eggs from its mother (Zamora et al 1999). The female will return to the bromeliads every other day and deposit these infertile eggs into the water. |
| After three months of metamorphosis, the young frog climbs out of the bromeliad to start life on land | The tadpoles need three months to complete metamorphosis. Once metamorphosis is complete, the juvenile frog will climb out of the bromeliad and begin terrestrial life on its own. (note: sequence is the source's own: 'Once metamorphosis is complete' / 'After about ten days ... swim onto the mother's back') |
| Animal Diversity Web's 2001 account placed the harlequin poison frog in rainforest from western Ecuador north through Colombia's Chocó region | Dendrobates histrionicus is found in tropical rainforests from western Ecuador, north through the region of Colombia occupied by the Choco tribe. (note: dated to the account's 2001 because the 2018 split narrowed the species) |
| From its food. | This toxin is collected from the prey of these frogs and then deposited in their skin. |
| the toxin is collected from the frog's prey, which is mostly ants, termites, small beetles and other tiny leaf-litter arthropods, and then deposited in its skin | This toxin is collected from the prey of these frogs and then deposited in their skin. ... Their primary food preferences are ants, termites, small beetles, and other small arthropods found in the leaf litter. |
| The toxins are spread over the frog's entire surface. | The skin toxins are located over the entire surface of the poison dart frogs. |
| After hatching, the tadpoles ride on their mother's back and she ferries them one at a time to small pools, usually in the leaf axils of bromeliads | use their tails to swim onto the mother's back. The female will transfer the tadpoles one at a time to pockets of water, usually in the axils of bromeliads (note: sequence is the source's own: 'Once metamorphosis is complete' / 'After about ten days ... swim onto the mother's back') |
| The tadpoles cannot develop properly without her unfertilised eggs, which she drops into each pool every other day | meaning to insure proper development, the tadpole must eat infertile eggs from its mother (Zamora et al 1999). The female will return to the bromeliads every other day and deposit these infertile eggs into the water. (note: paraphrase of 'to insure proper development, the tadpole must eat infertile eggs from its mother') |
| Turning into a frog takes them three months. | The tadpoles need three months to complete metamorphosis. |
| A rainforest frog just 2.5 to 3.8 centimetres long, painted like a warning label, its skin toxins collected straight from the ants, termites and beetles it eats | measuring only 1 to 1.5 inches (2.5 to 3.8 cm) ... This toxin is collected from the prey of these frogs and then deposited in their skin. (note: tagline) |
| Leaf litter on the floor of humid tropical rainforest in Colombia's Chocó region | north through the region of Colombia occupied by the Choco tribe ... are found on the floor of tropical rainforests where moist, humid conditions are present (note: stats.habitat; Ecuador dropped with the 2018 split, the Chocó part is within the old range) |
| Ants, termites, small beetles and other small arthropods found in leaf litter | Their primary food preferences are ants, termites, small beetles, and other small arthropods found in the leaf litter. (note: stats.diet) |
| Skin toxins collected from its prey, able to repel or even kill a small predator | capable of repelling or even killing small predators. This toxin is collected from the prey of these frogs and then deposited in their skin. (note: stats.superpower) |
| dangerLevel: High | The skin toxins of this frog are potentially dangerous to humans who handle them (note: Was Deadly. No cached source says O. histrionica can kill a person; SDZWA names the golden poison frog as the dart species. Dangerous when handled = High.) |
| whose male calls from a perch with a trilling, buzzing call | The males attempt to attract females by perching on a leaf and giving a trilling, buzzing call. (note: vibe.reason) |
| dressed in neon warning colours | due to the bright warning (aposematic) colors (note: vibe.reason) |

## Poison Frog. San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance Animals and Plants.

https://animals.sandiegozoo.org/animals/poison-frog

| The page says | The source says |
| :--- | :--- |
| Poison frogs are often called that because the Chocó people of western Colombia tip blowgun darts with frog toxin | Poison frogs are often called poison dart frogs because the Choco people of western Colombia use the poison of one species, the golden poison frog, to coat the tips of the blow darts they use for hunting. |
| San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance names one species as the frog they use, the golden poison frog, and says scientists know of only three frog species used for darts | the Choco people of western Colombia use the poison of one species, the golden poison frog ... Scientists know of only three frog species used for this purpose (note: Replaces ADW's 2001 claim that the Chocó tip darts with D. histrionicus secretions: the current institution page names only the golden poison frog) |

## Oophaga histrionica (Berthold, 1845). Integrated Taxonomic Information System (ITIS).

https://www.itis.gov/servlet/SingleRpt/SingleRpt?search_topic=TSN&search_value=774032

| The page says | The source says |
| :--- | :--- |
| First described in 1845 | Oophaga histrionica (Berthold, 1845) (note: ADW's prose says 1847 for the same Berthold description; ITIS (following Amphibian Species of the World, 2019) gives 1845, and the page follows the current taxonomic authority) |

## AnAge entry for Oophaga histrionica. AnAge: The Animal Ageing and Longevity Database, Human Ageing Genomic Resources.

https://genomics.senescence.info/species/entry.php?species=Oophaga_histrionica

| The page says | The source says |
| :--- | :--- |
| the AnAge ageing database records a maximum lifespan of 9.1 years in captivity | Maximum longevity 9.1 years (captivity) |

## Posso-Terranova & Andrés (2018). Multivariate species boundaries and conservation of harlequin poison frogs. Molecular Ecology.

https://doi.org/10.1111/mec.14803

| The page says | The source says |
| :--- | :--- |
| One Frog, At Least Five | the existence of at least five different species in the histrionica complex (note: heading) |
| A 2018 study combining genetic, morphological and ecological data across the histrionica complex found at least five species inside it, three of them new to science | we used next-generation targeted amplicon sequencing to obtain a robust genetic data set that we combined with patterns of morphological and ecological features. Our analyses revealed the existence of at least five different species in the histrionica complex (three, new to science) (note: 2018 is the reference's publication year) |
| some in small isolated populations outside any protected area | some of them, occurring in small isolated populations outside any protected areas |
| some of these species should be considered among the most vulnerable frogs in the Neotropics | some of the Oophaga species should be considered among the most vulnerable of the Neotropical frogs |
| When researchers compared DNA, anatomy and ecology across the frogs grouped under this name, they found at least five species, three of them new to science | we used next-generation targeted amplicon sequencing to obtain a robust genetic data set that we combined with patterns of morphological and ecological features. Our analyses revealed the existence of at least five different species in the histrionica complex (three, new to science) |
| Some live in small, isolated populations outside any protected area | some of them, occurring in small isolated populations outside any protected areas |

## Oophaga histrionica. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2019: e.T144231367A144443857.

https://doi.org/10.2305/iucn.uk.2019-2.rlts.t144231367a144443857.en

| The page says | The source says |
| :--- | :--- |
| The IUCN lists Oophaga histrionica itself as Critically Endangered, assessed in 2019 | IUCN Red List category: Critically Endangered (CR). Oophaga histrionica (Berthold, 1845), IUCN taxon 144231367. (note: 2019 is the assessment's year, from its DOI) |
| Critically Endangered | IUCN Red List category: Critically Endangered (CR) (note: stats.conservationStatus) |