Common Name: Rio Santiago Poison Frog or Santiago Poison Frog
Scientific Name: Excidobates captivus
Family: Dendrobatidae – Poison Dart Frog family
Locations: Ecuador and Peru
Size: 0.59 – 0.66 inches (15 – 17 mm)
The Rio Santiago Poison Frog is one of the smallest poison dart frogs in the world, not even reaching an inch long! They live in lowland tropical rain forests of Peru and Ecuador. Like most Poison Dart Frogs, the Rio Santiago Poison Frog is diurnal, even though they are more visible to predators than other frogs. They are able to stay out during the day without fear of being eaten by predators because they are poisonous.
Information about their reproduction methods is a little hazy. Researchers spotted a pair of frogs courting in the leaf litter, suggesting that the frogs lay their eggs there or on the ground. Sometime later, the male carry the tadpoles on their backs and deposit the eggs in Heliconia axils.
The frog was rediscovered in 2006, 77 years after it was originally collected by Western Scientists.
The International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List assess the Rio Santiago Poison Frog as Vulnerable to Extinction. Their habitat is threatened by logging, illegal gold mining, urban development, and expansion of farms.