Colostethus panamansis

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Colostethus panamansis
Panama Poison Dart Frog Colostethus panamensis.jpg
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Amphibia
Order: Anura
Family: Dendrobatidae
Genus: Colostethus
Species:
C. panamansis
Binomial name
Colostethus panamansis
(Dunn, 1933)
Synonyms [2]

Hyloxalus panamansisDunn, 1933
Colostethus panamensis(incorrect spelling)

Contents

Colostethus panamansis, also known as the Panama rocket frog [1] [3] [4] or (ambiguously) common rocket frog, [5] is a species of poison dart frog. It is found in northwestern Colombia and Panama. [2] [6] It is one of the best studied poison dart frogs; however, until 2004 Colostethus panamansis was considered a synonym of Colostethus inguinalis , and consequently the older literature uses that name. [7]

Distribution and habitat

Female carrying tadpoles on her back Panama Poison Dart Frog Colostethus panamensis with tadpoles.jpg
Female carrying tadpoles on her back

Colostethus panamansis is found in several parts of Panama and in Parque Nacional Natural Los Katios in Colombia. It is found living near streams in forested lowland and hilly country, usually at elevations below 800 metres (2,600 ft). [1] Scientists did observe some frogs in Los Katios, about 900 metres (3,000 ft) above sea level. [3]

Description

Adult males measure 19–27 mm (0.75–1.06 in) in snout–vent length and adult females 25–29 mm (0.98–1.14 in). One way scientists distinguish this frog from similar species is that the adult male has a light-colored throat instead of a black throat. The skin of the dorsum is a mix of light and dark brown. There is a dark brown stripe beginning at the eye going down each side of the body, with a white stripe within it. The tympanum is dark brown in color. There is some yellow or yellow-gold coloration on the bottoms of the hind legs and where the forelegs meet the body. The adult male frog usually has a light-colored ventrum, either uniform or with minimal speckles. The female frogs' ventral areas can vary. [7] [4]

Reproduction

Both male and female frogs show territorial behavior, with males fighting other males and females fighting other females. Both will attack frogs of the species C. pratti . [4]

The female lays her eggs in clutches among leaf litter. When they hatch, she carries them around on her back for up to nine days when she immerses herself in a fast flowing stream and they become detached and continue their development in the water. One female was spotted with forty tadpoles on her back at once, so it is inferred that the female carries the entire clutch in one trip rather than returning to the egg-laying site. Scientists are not certain how the tadpoles are nourished given that the trip can take her nine days. Their yolk sacs are notably small. [4] [5]

C. panamansis and C. pratti are the only two species in Colostethus known to practice maternal care. In all other species in the genus, it is the male frog who carries the tadpoles after hatching. [4]

Research

The pathogenic fungus Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis causes the emerging infectious disease chytridiomycosis which is the cause of the decline in many species of tropical amphibian. Colostethus panamansis was used to demonstrate that the fungus was indeed the pathogen responsible for the disease. Healthy rocket frogs from El Copé in Panama were collected and shown to be free of B. dendrobatidis. They were then exposed to an isolate of the fungus. Some of these died and from these B. dendrobatidis was reisolated and was demonstrated to be identical to the original infective agent thus fulfilling Koch's postulates. [8]

This poison in this frog's skin is tetrodotoxin, a sodium channel blocker. [4]

Conservation status

Colostethus panamansis is listed as being of "Least Concern" in the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. This is because it has a wide range in which it is common, and though the population may be declining, this is not at a rate to allow it to qualify for a higher category. The chief threats it faces are deforestation, logging and farming activities including pollution of streams with pesticides. Scientists also consider this frog particularly susceptible to the fungal disease chytridiomycosis and have advocated a captive breeding program. [1]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Poison dart frog</span> Family of amphibians

Poison dart frog is the common name of a group of frogs in the family Dendrobatidae which are native to tropical Central and South America. These species are diurnal and often have brightly colored bodies. This bright coloration is correlated with the toxicity of the species, making them aposematic. Some species of the family Dendrobatidae exhibit extremely bright coloration along with high toxicity — a feature derived from their diet of ants, mites and termites— while species which eat a much larger variety of prey have cryptic coloration with minimal to no amount of observed toxicity. Many species of this family are threatened due to human infrastructure encroaching on their habitats.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chytridiomycosis</span> Amphibian disease

Chytridiomycosis is an infectious disease in amphibians, caused by the chytrid fungi Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis and Batrachochytrium salamandrivorans. Chytridiomycosis has been linked to dramatic population declines or extinctions of amphibian species in western North America, Central America, South America, eastern Australia, east Africa (Tanzania), and Dominica and Montserrat in the Caribbean. Much of the New World is also at risk of the disease arriving within the coming years. The fungus is capable of causing sporadic deaths in some amphibian populations and 100% mortality in others. No effective measure is known for control of the disease in wild populations. Various clinical signs are seen by individuals affected by the disease. A number of options are possible for controlling this disease-causing fungus, though none has proved to be feasible on a large scale. The disease has been proposed as a contributing factor to a global decline in amphibian populations that apparently has affected about 30% of the amphibian species of the world. Some research found evidence insufficient for linking chytrid fungi and chytridiomycosis to global amphibian declines, but more recent research establishes a connection and attributes the spread of the disease to its transmission through international trade routes into native ecosystems.

<i>Colostethus</i> Genus of amphibians

Colostethus is a genus of poison dart frogs native to Central and South America, from Panama south to Colombia, Ecuador, and northern Peru. Their common name is rocket frogs, but this name may refer to frogs in other genera and families, following the taxonomic revision of the genus in 2006.

<i>Indirana brachytarsus</i> Species of frog

Indirana brachytarsus is a species of frog found in the Western Ghats of India.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Panamanian golden frog</span> Species of amphibian

The Panamanian golden frog, also known as Cerro Campana stubfoot toad and other names, is a species of toad endemic to Panama. Panamanian golden frogs inhabit the streams along the mountainous slopes of the Cordilleran cloud forests of west-central Panama. While the IUCN lists it as Critically Endangered, it may in fact have been extinct in the wild since 2007. Individuals have been collected for breeding in captivity in a bid to preserve the species. The alternative common name, Zetek's golden frog, and the epithet zeteki both commemorate the entomologist James Zetek.

Hyloxalus abditaurantius is a species of frog in the family Dendrobatidae. It is endemic to Colombia.

Silverstoneia erasmios is a species of frog in the family Dendrobatidae. It is endemic to Colombia where it is known from the Cordillera Occidental and Cordillera Central in the Antioquia Department.

<i>Leucostethus fraterdanieli</i> Species of frog

Leucostethus fraterdanieli is a species of frog in the family Dendrobatidae. It is endemic to the Andes in Colombia. Colostethus yaguara might be its junior synonym.

<i>Colostethus inguinalis</i> Species of frog

Colostethus inguinalis is a species of frog in the family Dendrobatidae. It is endemic to northwestern and northcentral Colombia. Its vernacular name is common rocket frog, although this name can also refer to Colostethus panamansis that until 2004 was considered a junior synonym of Colostethus inguinalis. Much of the older literature on Colostethus inguinalis is actually about Colostethus panamansis.

<i>Colostethus pratti</i> Species of frog

Colostethus pratti is a species of frog in the family Dendrobatidae. It is found in the northwestern Colombia and Panama, possibly also in southeastern Costa Rica. It is sometimes known as the Pratt's rocket frog. Colostethus pratti is named after Antwerp Edgar Pratt, an explorer who collected the type series.

Leucostethus ramirezi is a species of frog in the family Dendrobatidae that is endemic to Colombia. It is only known from the region of its type locality, Urrao in the Antioquia Department.

Hyloxalus shuar is a species of frog in the family Dendrobatidae. It is endemic to Ecuador and Peru and is currently known from only two locations, though formerly widespread. The common English-language names Santiago rocket frog and Shuar rocket frog have been proposed for it.

<i>Allobates talamancae</i> Species of frog

Allobates talamancae is a species of frog in the family Aromobatidae. It is found in northwestern Ecuador, western Colombia, Panama, Costa Rica, and southern Nicaragua.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Vicente's poison frog</span> Species of amphibian

Vicente's poison frog is a species of frog in the family Dendrobatidae that is endemic to the Veraguas and Coclé Provinces of central Panama.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lovely poison frog</span> Species of amphibian

The lovely poison frog or lovely poison-arrow frog is a species of frog in the family Dendrobatidae. It is found on the Caribbean versant of Central America from southeastern Nicaragua through Costa Rica to northwestern Panama, with one record just west of the Panama Canal. Populations from the Pacific versant, formerly included in this species, are now identified as Phyllobates vittatus.

<i>Agalychnis lemur</i> Species of amphibian

Agalychnis lemur, the lemur leaf frog or lemur frog, is a species of frog in the subfamily Phyllomedusinae. It is found in Costa Rica, Panama, and adjacent northwestern Colombia. It is classed as Critically Endangered and threatened by the fungal disease chytridiomycosis.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">La Loma tree frog</span> Species of amphibian

The La Loma tree frog is a species of frog in the family Hylidae found in Costa Rica, Panama, and expected but not confirmed in Colombia. Its natural habitats are tropical moist lowland and montane forests, with breeding taking place in streams. It is threatened by habitat loss and chytridiomycosis.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Green-eyed treefrog</span> Species of amphibian

The green-eyed treefrog is a species of Australasian treefrog in the subfamily Pelodryadinae that occurs in the Wet Tropics of Australia.

Hyloxalus pulcherrimus is a moderately large species of poison dart frog endemic to Peru. It is only known to be found in two streams near Cutervo.

Oophaga andresi, also known as the cocorro, is a species of poison dart frog. It was described in 2018. It is endemic to Colombia's Chocó region.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 IUCN SSC Amphibian Specialist Group (2020). "Colostethus panamansis". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species . 2020: e.T55125A54343780. doi: 10.2305/IUCN.UK.2020-3.RLTS.T55125A54343780.en . Retrieved 12 November 2021.
  2. 1 2 Frost, Darrel R. (2019). "Colostethus panamansis (Dunn, 1933)". Amphibian Species of the World: an Online Reference. Version 6.0. American Museum of Natural History. Retrieved 7 July 2019.
  3. 1 2 Frost, Darrel R. "Colostethus panamansis (Dunn, 1933)". Amphibian Species of the World, an Online Reference. Version 6.0. American Museum of Natural History, New York. Retrieved October 31, 2024.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Maya Rayle (October 17, 2022). Ann T. Chang (ed.). "Colostethus panamansis (Dunn, 1933)". AmphibiaWeb. University of California, Berkeley. Retrieved October 31, 2024.
  5. 1 2 "Rocket frog". Amphibian Rescue and Conservation Project. 2012-05-14. Retrieved 2012-10-01.
  6. ↑ Acosta Galvis, A. R. (2019). "Colostethus panamansis (Dunn, 1933)". Lista de los Anfibios de Colombia: Referencia en linea V.09.2019. Retrieved 7 July 2019.
  7. 1 2 Grant, T. (2004). "On the identities of Colostethus inguinalis (Cope, 1868) and C. panamensis (Dunn, 1933), with comments on C. latinasus (Cope, 1863) (Anura: Dendrobatidae)". American Museum Novitates (3444): 1–24. doi:10.1206/0003-0082(2004)444<0001:otioci>2.0.co;2. hdl: 2246/2809 .
  8. ↑ Karen R. Lips; Forrest Brem; Roberto Brenes; John D. Reeve; Ross A. Alford; Jamie Voyles; Cynthia Carey; Lauren Livo; Allan P. Pessier; James P. Collins (2006). "Emerging infectious disease and the loss of biodiversity in a Neotropical amphibian community". Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America. 103 (9): 3165–3170. doi: 10.1073/pnas.0506889103 . PMC   1413869 . PMID   16481617.
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