Discovery of the Costa Rican poison frog Dendrobates granuliferus in sympatry with Dendrobates pumilio, and comments on taxonomic use of skin alkaloids

Related Titles

Series: American Museum novitates, no. 3144

By

Myers, Charles W.
Daly, John W.

Type

Book

Material

Published material

Publication info

New York, American Museum of Natural History, c1995

Notes

Caption title.

"August 14, 1995."

"Dendrobates granuliferus, previously thought to be a characteristic endemic of Pacific-side rain forest in the Golfo Dulce region, was found in sympatry with Dendrobates pumilio on the Caribbean coast of southeastern Costa Rica, near the Panamanian border. The sympatric frogs were easily separated by features of coloration and skin texture. Relative abundance in microsympatry was about 100 pumilio:4 granuliferus. Inasmuch as Dendrobates pumilio is sometimes strikingly polymorphic within populations, the initial identifications were tested with bioacoustical, skin-alkaloid, and allozyme data. These comparisons negate the possibility of intrapopulational polymorphism and are consistent with the determination of the rare species as D. granuliferus. Previous inferences that D. granuliferus and D. pumilio are sister species are neither supported nor repudiated by present data. Interpopulational and even individual variation in the skin toxins of these species is extraordinary and probably reflect dietary differences as well as genetic factors. Current knowledge of the dendrobatid alkaloids is briefly reviewed in a systematic context. With a few exceptions, skin chemistry has not been useful in supporting taxonomic differentiation of closely related species. But underlying genetic mechanisms for alkaloid sequestering (and synthesis?) support the monophyly of a suprageneric group of aposematic dendrobatids (tropical poison frogs). Within this group, the monophyly of Phyllobates (true dart-poison frogs) and of Phyllobates + Dendrobates is supported by alkaloid data. The monophyly of Minyobates (dwarf poison frogs) also is corroborated, although in this case the alkaloid character is one of loss and especially in need of further study"--P. [1]-2.

Subjects

Alkaloids , Amphibians , Classification , Costa Rica , Dendrobates granuliferus , Dendrobates pumilio , Frogs

Call Number

QL1 .A436 no.3144, 1995

Language

English

Identifiers

OCLC: 38178941