Oophaga sylvatica

Oophaga sylvatica, sometimes known as its Spanish name diablito, is a species of frog in the family Dendrobatidae found in Southwestern Colombia and Northwestern Ecuador.[3] Its natural habitat is lowland and submontane rainforest; it can, however, survive in moderately degraded areas, at least in the more humid parts of its range. It is a very common frog in Colombia, but has disappeared from much of its Ecuadorian range. It is threatened by habitat loss (deforestation) and agricultural pollution. It is sometimes seen in the international pet trade.[1]

Oophaga sylvatica
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Amphibia
Order: Anura
Family: Dendrobatidae
Genus: Oophaga
Species:
O. sylvatica
Binomial name
Oophaga sylvatica
(Funkhouser, 1956)[2]
Synonyms

Dendrobates histrionicus sylvaticus Funkhouser, 1956
Dendrobates sylvaticus Funkhouser, 1956

This species occurs in several color morphs. For example, the Bilsa Biological Station (operated by the Jatun Sacha Foundation) boasts three color morphs—red, yellow, and orange—within their 3000-ha protected area located within Ecuador's Mache and Chindul coastal mountain ranges.

Toxins

Oophaga sylvatica feed on insects such as ants and mites that contain lipophilic alkaloid toxins, and these toxins are then absorbed by the frog and used as a defense mechanism.[4] These frogs cannot produce the toxins by themselves. Proteomic profiling has revealed that the livers of these frogs produce high levels of specialized proteins like saxiphilin that may be involved in alkaloid sequestration.[4] The alkaloids also cause them to give off vibrant colors.[5]

See also
  • Lenomyrmex hoelldobleri, species of ant known only from a single specimen found in the stomach of a Oophaga sylvatica

References
  1. Coloma, L.A.; Ron, S.; Grant, T. & Lötters, S. (2004). "Oophaga sylvatica". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2004: e.T55203A11264944. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2004.RLTS.T55203A11264944.en.
  2. "Oophaga sylvatica (Funkhouser, 1956)". Integrated Taxonomic Information System. Retrieved 2 September 2014.
  3. Frost, Darrel R. (2014). "Oophaga sylvatica (Funkhouser, 1956)". Amphibian Species of the World: an Online Reference. Version 6.0. American Museum of Natural History. Retrieved 2 September 2014.
  4. Caty, Stephanie N.; Alvarez-Buylla, Aurora; Byrd, Gary D.; Vidoudez, Charles; Roland, Alexandre B.; Tapia, Elicio E.; Budnik, Bogdan; Trauger, Sunia A.; Coloma, Luis A.; O'Connell, Lauren A. (2019-06-15). "Molecular physiology of chemical defenses in a poison frog". Journal of Experimental Biology. 222 (12). doi:10.1242/jeb.204149. ISSN 0022-0949. PMID 31138640.
  5. Knight, Kathryn (2019). "How poison dart frogs export potent poisons to their skins". Journal of Experimental Biology. 222 (12): jeb207910. doi:10.1242/jeb.207910.


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