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[sound & video details here]

View distribution map using BerkeleyMapper.

	Conservation Status (definitions)
IUCN (Red List) Status	Least Concern (LC) See threat category on the IUCN web site.
CITES	Appendix II
Other International Status	None
National Status	None
Regional Status	None

Description
Size: 17-24 mm. The skin is relatively smooth, and the "usual" coloration includes a bright red back, some small black spots, black to dark blue hind legs, and a red belly, which occasionally is red and blue, and can vary toward tan and white is some Panamanian localities. Unusual color variations occur on the small islands off the coast of Panama, including these color combinations: blue above and below, without spots; green above and below with small spots; green above and white below, with small spots; red above and white below, with small spots; and olive green above and yellow below, with black flecks. In one population there is only one color form, but on the Island of Bastimentos there are different colors in one population. Males have a tan-grayish vocal pouch under the throat, when they defend their territory. When removed from their territory, they lose their vocal pouch coloration fairly rapidly.

Distribution and Habitat

Country distribution from AmphibiaWeb's database: Costa Rica, Nicaragua, Panama

View distribution map using BerkeleyMapper.

Dendrobates pumilio is found in the rainforests of the Caribbean coast of Central America, from Nicaragua to Panama, and between sea level and 960 m (Walls 1994).

Life History, Abundance, Activity, and Special Behaviors

More males call during the rainy season and female don`t ovulate during the drier period. The male call is described as a low buzz or ticking note call, and is used to attract females and as a territorial advertisement call (Walls 1994). There are 4 different calls (Zimmermann 1990). The call most heard is used for territorial defense in the morning, between 8 and 10 am. Males defend territories, approximately 3 m apart from other males (Walls 1994).

The female approaches the male to initiate breeding. It is the role of the male to tend to the terrestrial clutch of eggs (3-17 eggs), and to keep them moist by periodically emptying their bladders on the eggs (hydric brooding) until they hatch (after 5-15 days). Males may protect more than one clutch at a time. The female then carries the individual tadpoles (1-2) to seperate, water filled leaf axils of bromeliads or other plants. If two tadpoles are brought to one bromeliad only one will survive. The female lays unfertilized eggs in with the tadpoles as a food source, and she is thus able to maintain as many as six tadpoles through metamorphosis (Duellman and Trueb 1986). Tadpoles must receive an egg meal within 3 days of being placed in a bromeliad water pool in order to survive. They metamorphosize when they reach approximately 11 mm long (Walls 1994). Males have been observed eating the eggs or carrying the tadpoles of unattended clutches to bromeliad water pools where they will die since the female will not be able to feed them (Duellman and Trueb 1986). Metamorphosis is complete in 6-8 weeks.

Adults of this species consume primarily ants.

Trends and Threats
Tourism (www.redfrogbeachclub.com) and cultivation of forests are becoming problems for some populations.

Relation to Humans
This frog can be found in gardens. The species is often smuggled for the pet trade.

Comments

A Spanish-language species account can be found at the website of Instituto Nacional de Biodiversidad (INBio).

References
 

Donnelly, M. A. (1989). ''Reproductive phenology and age structure of Dendrobates pumilio in northeastern Costa Rica.'' Journal of Herpetology, 23, 362-367.  

Donnelly, M. A. (1991). ''Feeding patterns of the Strawberry Poison Frog Dendrobates pumilio (Anura: Dendrobatidae).'' Copeia, 23, 723-730.  

Duellman, W. E., and Trueb, L. (1986). Biology of Amphibians. McGraw-Hill, New York.  

Graves, B. M. (1999). ''Diel activity patterns of the sympatric poison dart frogs, Dendrobates auratus and D. pumilio, in Costa Rica.'' Journal of Herpetology, 33(3), 375-381.  

Liebermann, S. and Dock, C. F. (1982). ''Analysis of the leaf litter arthropod fauna of a lowland tropical evergreen forest site.'' Revista de Biología Tropical, 30, 27-34.  

McVey, M. E., Robert, Z. G., Perry, D., and MacDougal, J. (1981). ''Territoriality and homing behavior in the poison-dart frog (Dendrobates pumilio).'' Copeia, 1981(1), 1-8.  

Pröhl, G. (1995). Territorial- und Paarungsverhalten von Dendrobates pumilio. Diplomarbeit (Master's thesis). Tierärztliche Hochschule Hannover, Germany.  

Savage, J. M. (2002). The Amphibians and Reptiles of Costa Rica. University of Chicago Press, Chicago and London.  

Summers, K., Cronin, T. W., and Kennedy, T. (2003). ''Variation in spectral reflectance among populations of Dendrobates pumilio, the strawberry poison frog, in the Bocas del Toro Archipelago, Panama.'' Journal of Biogeography, 30, 35-53.  

Walls, J. G. (1994). Jewels of the Rainforest: Poison Frogs of the Family Dendrobatidae. J.F.H. Publications, Neptune City, New Jersey.  

Zimmermann, E. (1990). ''Behavioral signals and reproduction modes in the neotropical frog family Dendrobatidae.'' Biology and Physiology of Amphibians. W. Hanke, eds., Fischer, Stuttgart.

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