Poison dart frog
A Blue-jeans Poison dart frog, down in the jungle leaf litter.
Seeing one of these in the wild was high on my wish-list, so this was a memorable encounter.
These frogs often rear their young in the small rain-filled reservoirs that are found in the foliage of Bromiliad plants. A single tadpole is deposited in each of the Mother frogs chosen sites, which she returns to every few days. As these tiny pools aren't large enough to provide an adequate natural food source, she lays an unfertilised egg in each of them, which the growing tadpoles then consume.
At around 2cm long, this frog is tiny, but it's bright colours warn that it packs quite a punch, if messed with. This species is seldom fatal to humans, but can generate enough toxins to kill smaller animals, up to the size of a dog.
Not the most accomplished shot here, but if handled carelessly (with say a cut on your finger), it can cause short-term localised paralysis, so I didn't feel inclined to nudge this little guy into a more photogenic pose.
Costa Rica - Oct 2019.
Poison dart frog
A Blue-jeans Poison dart frog, down in the jungle leaf litter.
Seeing one of these in the wild was high on my wish-list, so this was a memorable encounter.
These frogs often rear their young in the small rain-filled reservoirs that are found in the foliage of Bromiliad plants. A single tadpole is deposited in each of the Mother frogs chosen sites, which she returns to every few days. As these tiny pools aren't large enough to provide an adequate natural food source, she lays an unfertilised egg in each of them, which the growing tadpoles then consume.
At around 2cm long, this frog is tiny, but it's bright colours warn that it packs quite a punch, if messed with. This species is seldom fatal to humans, but can generate enough toxins to kill smaller animals, up to the size of a dog.
Not the most accomplished shot here, but if handled carelessly (with say a cut on your finger), it can cause short-term localised paralysis, so I didn't feel inclined to nudge this little guy into a more photogenic pose.
Costa Rica - Oct 2019.