Golfo Dulce Poison-Dart Frog

Description:

phyllobates vittatus is a small frog, with males reaching 26 mm in SVL and females measuring up to 31 mm in SVL (Leenders 2001). The skin on the dorsal surfaces is slightly granular or shagreened, with tiny bumps (Silverstone, 1976). Skin is also slightly granular on the belly and the ventral surfaces of the thighs, but smooth on the rest of the ventral surfaces (Silverstone 1976). Both maxillary and premaxillary teeth are present (Silverstone 1976). Finger I is longer than finger II. The toes lack webbing (Silverstone 1976). The back and head are generally solid black, although in some individuals there is an interrupted yellow median dorsal stripe. A wide gold, red-orange or orange dorsolateral stripe runs from each side of the snout over the eyes and back, down to the base of the thigh. A single white line projects from the shoulder, at the insertion of the upper arm, and runs along the lip to just under the eye. The dorsal surfaces of the limbs show dense blue-green speckling on a black background, while the venter and ventral surfaces of the limbs are marbled with white or pale blue-green on black. Each flank has a white or pale blue-green stripe running ventrolaterally

Habitat:

The Golfo Dulce Poison-Dart Frog is endemic to Costa Rica, inhabiting the wet forests and lowlands of the Golfo Dulce region in the southwestern part of Costa Rica (Silverstone 1976; Leenders 2001). It has also been reported to occur near Dominical, in the province of Puntarentas, Costa Rica (Ryan 2002). This species is found between 20 to 550 meters in elevation (Savage 2002). It prefers the leaf litter of forested valleys with streams (Leenders 2001).