Lehmann's Frog

About the Lehmann's Frog

Lehmann's poison frog or the red-banded poison frog (Oophaga lehmanni) is a species of frogs in the family Dendrobatidae endemic to a small part of western Colombia. Its natural habitats are submontane tropical rainforests. It is threatened by habitat loss and collection for the pet trade, and the IUCN lists it as being "critically endangered". It was named after Colombian conservation biologist Federico Carlos Lehmann.

Lehmann's poison frog has a smooth skin and exhibits aposematic colouration, which warns predators that it is inedible. There are red, orange and yellow morphs of this frog. The background colour is black or dark brown which contrasts with the two bright, broad bands of colour round the body and further coloured bands on the limbs. The first toe is shorter than the second and the toes of males have silver tips. This frog grows to a snout-to-vent length of 31 to 36 mm (1.2 to 1.4 in).

It is very similar in appearance to the harlequin poison frog (Oophaga histrionicus), a species with which it can hybridise, and there is ongoing debate as to whether it is in fact a separate species. There are distinct differences in the calls of the males between northern... Wikipedia →