Facts About the Yellow-Banded Dart Frog

The brightly colored Dendrobates leucomelas, commonly known as the yellow-banded poison dart frog, is native to South America. Many species of this frog family defend against predators by secreting poison through their skin. According to the U.S. Geological Survey, the only time one of these frogs was found in the United States was in 1994 when a frog was collected in Honolulu, Hawaii.

  1. Identification

    • Adult yellow-banded dart frogs have three broad, bright yellow, yellow-orange or orange cross-bands on a black body, with black blotches usually present on the bands. The limbs are yellow or orange, also with a variation of black spots. They are small with no webbing on their feet and with a snout-vent length of 1.2 to 1.5 inches. Their average weight is 0.11 oz., with females larger than males. These frogs have glandular adhesive pads on their toes, which allow them to climb and cling to plant surfaces. Their average lifespan is 5 to 7 years in the wild and 10 to 15 years in captivity.

    Habitat

    • Native in the neo-tropical western Guianan region and the northeastern Amazon Basin of South America, these frogs are found in Venezuela, northern Brazil, Guyana and southeastern Colombia. As they prefer wet, humid habitats, and are found on moist stones, tree trunks, forest soil and on the roots of rain forest trees.

    Behaviors

    • Typically active during the day and resting at night, these frogs live on the ground and in trees. Males are solitary when not breeding and are extremely territorial. They can be aggressive in defending a breeding territory. To attract females, males make sounds such as chirps, buzzes, trills and hums, which are loudest an hour or two before sunset and after sunrise. They also use visual signals to show off their color. They use their vision to locate prey, and tadpoles signal their presence in a pool of water by making vibrations.

    Reproduction

    • At 2 years old, females reach sexual maturity. The rainy season during February and March is when breeding occurs. The female competes for a mate and then follows him to his breeding area. She deposits eggs on leaves in humid areas and can lay up to 1,000 eggs in a breeding season. Once laid, the male cares for the eggs and keeps them moist. Tadpoles hatch about two weeks after fertilization and are then cared for by the male. He deposits them into a water-holding plant -- one tadpole per water-filled pocket.