| Granular Poison Frog | |
|---|---|
| Conservation status | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Amphibia |
| Order: | Anura |
| Family: | Dendrobatidae |
| Genus: | Oophaga |
| Species: | O. granulifera |
| Binomial name | |
| Oophaga granulifera (Taylor, 1958) |
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| Synonyms | |
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The Granular Poison Frog, Oophaga granulifera, is a species of frog in the family Dendrobatidae, found in Costa Rica and Panama.[1] Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical, moist, lowland forests, but it is threatened by habitat loss.[1] This frog has been reclassified from Dendrobates granuliferus to Oophaga granulifera.
The frog is an aposematic animal, and it uses poison only for the self defense from predators. Its clearly visible red color is designed as a warning signal to all possible predators. Experimental studies in Costa Rica suggest that the male granular poison frog spends the majority of its time and energy defending its calling site. And the data from these studies also show that these warning signals are more vocal (acoustic) than visual. If an encroaching male granular poison frog were to dare approach too closely, these frogs have no qualms about engaging physically. The lengths they will go to defend their territory epitomize their unique aggressive behavior[2].
Data related to Oophaga granulifera at Wikispecies Media related to [//commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category:Dendrobates_granuliferus Oophaga granulifera] at Wikimedia Commons