Tadpoles on Board

Three striped poison frog (Ameerega trivittata) - Amazonas, Colombia

 

The three striped poison frog (Ameerega trivittata) is the most common poison frog species throughout much of its range. Its a truly impressive frog, large and brightly colored and capable of taking big leaps unlike many of the other poison frogs which tend to take a series of quick hops. I had seen them transporting their tadpoles on many occasions but their skittishness combined with their affinity for the aforementioned big jumps always prevented me from getting a good photo of one transporting tadpoles. However luck was on my side. At night this species can be found sleeping on leaves. I'd seen many individuals ontop of leaves prior but never an individual with tadpoles. They are much easier to approach at night and I was thrilled to photograph this frog exactly as I found it, and when I left it stayed on its chosen leaf until morning. During the day the transporting frog, male for this species, will descend and likely search out pools of water where it can deposit its precious cargo. Once dropped off in a pool of water the tadpoles must fend for themselves.

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