#ranitomeya imitator

[animal-forgeries]

today's mimic: mimic poison frog, ranitomeya imitator

photo by john clare

the mimic poison frog, also known as the poison arrow frog or imitating poison frog, is notable for having many colour morphs that allow it to mimic multiple different species. the four different mimicking morphs are:

'varadero', which mimics the red-headed poison frog, ranitomeya fantastica

'striped', which mimics the lowland zimmerman's poison frog, ranitomeya variabilis

'spotted', which mimics the highland zimmerman's poison frog, ranitomeya variabilis

and 'banded', which mimics the summers' poison frog, ranitomeya summersi

the mimicry is used defensively, as this species, while toxic, is much less so than the species it mimics.

comparisons:

(comparisons created by me, images source here)

[pseudo-psalms]

I thank God for small, colorful frogs

[herpsandbirds]

Mimic Poison Frog (Ranitomeya imitator) - "Chazuta" morph, family Dendrobatidae, endemic to Peru

Poisonous.

This species has 4 color morphs, all of which mimic other poison frogs that live in those regions.

photograph by Inktomi

[uncharismatic-fauna]

Uncharismatic Fact of the Day

Though these frogs look very pretty, admirers must be very careful never to-- wait, no, false alarm! Ranitomeya imitator is better known as the mimic poison dart frog, due to its uncanny resemblence to its deadly relatives. The bright colors help keep predators away, and but their skin is only mildly toxic. R. imitator isn't the only species that's become a copy cat; a number of South American frogs have adopted this tactic with varying degrees of success.

(Image: A mimic poison dart frog (Ranitomeya imitator) with tadpole by Dr. John P. Clare)

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[chaobunnyarts]

Froggy fall! (part 3/3)

17. Witch's home / Cranwell's horned frog (Ceratophrys cranwelli) 18. Frog’s familiar / Dotted humming frog (Chiasmocleis ventrimaculata) 19. Poison / Mimic poison frog (Ranitomeya imitator) 20. Wand / Australian green tree frog (Ranoidea caerulea) 21. Gold leaf / Black rain frog (Breviceps fuscus) 22. Witch's hat / Strawberry poison frog (Oophaga pumilio) 23. Apple / Red-eyed tree frog (Agalychnis callidryas)

[lowcountry-gothic]

The “Tarapoto” morph of the poison-frog Ranitomeya imitator, found in Peru. Photo by Ignacio Yúfera.

[tropic-havens]

Mimic Poison Frog or poison arrow frog, Ranitomeya imitator, north-central region of eastern Peru

[orowyrm]

hi lucio anon here again i also think lucio deserves to show sigma real frogs . theres no way lucio DOESN'T own real frogs (and toads) when his whole brand is frog. i think he has things ranging from white's tree frogs and red eyed tree frogs to bullfrogs to green and black dart frogs. i think he shows them to sig and teaches him how to hold them with his more relaxed frogs. i think he has a HUGE and old cane toad named some shit like microwave. who is just old and chill. and i think he's his favorite to show sigma cus he's just so chill and like ( ´ ― ` ) you know. and i think at first sig is so weirded out by the toads and frogs. like he wants to be cool about it and lucio makes sure he wears like latex gloves n stuff while handling the frogs and toads but sig is still so unsure. it takes him a bit to get used to it but when he IS used to it he's like "lucio..... lucio the frogs .... i need to see them ..."

OH SOOOOOOO REAL!!!!!!! i fucking love frogs i really believe in lucio having pet frogs. i used to keep thumbnail darts years back theyre such epic little beasts.... very fragile though. in my heart and soul i want to believe hes got a pixie frog/african bullfrog sheerly bcs theyre absolutely in my top 10 for 'animal of all time'. look at this BEAST!!!

as epic as cane toads are i feel like sig would be kinda skeeved out by handling ANY variant of hot animal tbh, even if gloves are all you need to be protected ... (i know in the hobby the term 'hots' usually refers specifically to venomous animals usually snakes but id consider a frog that can produce toxic ooze to be hot because i would not want to touch it) i feel like in general especially when it comes to small fragile animals hes more comfortable observing than handling... he does not want to risk hurting them hes aware that they are so little and his hands are so large BUT given the opportunity he WOULD sit there for hours and just stare at them as they do their thing. enrichment for him

im realizing as im typing this that if hes got expensive specialized sought after frogs like darts he almost definitely goes to like expos and stuff to scope out vendors the way i used to and im loving the concept .... imagine youre running a table at a reptile show and THEE Lúcio Correia dos Santos walks in and starts asking you about your opinions on cohabitating different morphs of ranitomeya imitator in the same vivarium. id keel over and die

[semianonymity]

Absolutely torn between a pair of Ranitomeya imitator frogs for my vivarium and a small group of Epipedobates anthonyi.

Ranitomeya imitator:

Absolutely STUNNING little jewels

Extremely tiny even by poison dart frog standards! I consider this a significant plus

Territorial, so I can only house 2, a breeding pair

Egg feeders, where the females deposit sterile eggs for the developing tadpoles to eat - EXTREMELY cool behavior

Potentially very shy, part of the reason they're not recommended as a beginner species

Epipedobates anthonyi:

Less brightly colored, but still pretty!

Larger (relatively speaking)

I could keep a small group of 5 or so!

Breeds readily - but no egg feeding

Males perch up high to call, easy to observe!

Recommended as a starter species!

PLEASE GIVE ME YOUR THOUGHTS TUMBLR FRIENDS

[logs-pods]

First tadpole!

This is actually from a Ranitomeya imitator clutch, but the sirensis are on the way any day now!

[terranlifeform]

[thecrowinggriffon]

New frogs

[pseudo-psalms]

New frog, yet unnamed, recently morphed

Ranitomeya Imitator 'Chazuta'

[herpsandbirds]

Mimic Poison Frog (Ranitomeya imitator) - "Yurimaguensis" morph, family Dendrobatidae, endemic to Peru

Poisonous.

This species has 4 color morphs, all of which mimic other poison frogs that live in those regions.

photograph by Cristian Torica

[emilylovesfrogs]

I now have two absolutely beautiful and adorable imitator poison dart frogs. Their names are Froggo Baggins and Mirabelle. <3 They like to play in the leaves but are also very shy

[varanusindicus]

I love dart frogs because babies will just show up in the tank every so often. Just found this little bugger poking around in the leaves for food. Ranitomeya imitator 'Chazuta'