Anthony’s Poison Arrow Frog

ANIMAL:
Anthony’s Poison Arrow Frog Epipedobates anthonyi

Type of Animal:
Frog

Habitat:
Forests, moist lowland areas near streams

Location(s):
SW Ecuador & NW Peru

Appearance:
Very small frog, bright reddish to dark reddish to reddish-brownish w/ green to yellowish-white striping/spotting, short/robust hind legs, females larger than males

Food/Diet:
Ants, beetles, termites, mites, flies, crickets, springtails, isopods, spiders

Status in Wild:
Stable

Conservation:
Breeding in zoos, aquariums, & herpetoculture

Lifestyle:
Groups of 3-8 frogs

Additional Info:

Called:
Male
Female
Young: Tadpole
Group: Army
 
Weight:
Male: 0.10-0.11 oz
Female: 0.2 oz
 
Gestation:
2 weeks 

Life Span:
5-8 years

Body Length:
Male: 0.7 in
Female: 1 in

Due to skin toxins, only a few snakes successfully eat them.
 
Also called Anthony’s Poison Dart Frogs.
 
Active during the day (diurnal).
 
Females lay clutches of 10-40 eggs w/ male guarding them until they hatch 2 weeks later.
 
When tadpoles hatch, male carries them to water body where they stay until metamorphosing into froglets 2 months later. They stay in froglet stage until reaching maturity at 5 months old.
 
Coloration serves as warning to potential predators.
 
Males make trilling calls & croaks.
 
Capture prey using sticky tongue.
 
Like all Poison Frogs, they have good eyesight.
 
Fights usually involve wrestling & don’t result in much injury.
 
Stable but declining due to pet trade, restricted range, pollution, & collection for medicinal use.

Fun Fact(s):
Hunters use skin toxins on darts/arrows.
 
While poisonous in wild, they lose much/all toxicity in captivity due to diet. In captivity, they’re only fed nontoxic prey items like crickets & fruit flies. In wild, they eat lots of poisonous insects.
 
Toxic nicotine-like substance Epibatidine 1st derived from & named for this species. Once investigated for possible use as analgesic agent but proved too toxic & used exclusively for research purposes.
 
Named after Harold Elmer Anthony, Curator of Mammals at American Museum of Natural History from 1926-1958.

9 thoughts on “Anthony’s Poison Arrow Frog

  1. Glory

    It is in point of fact a nice and useful piece of information. I am satisfied that you
    shared this helpful info with us. Please keep us informed like this.

    Thanks for sharing.

    Reply
  2. Yolanda

    When some one searches for his vital thing, so he/she desires to be available that in detail, so that thing is maintained over here.

    Reply

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *