This morph can be found in the foothills of the Cordillera Oriental. Although it tends to be more orange than the typical nominal imitator, pattern-wise it is similar and probably represents variation over distance, being at the northwest end of what is likely a large population inhabiting the Cordillera Oriental.
Morph: Nominal
This is the nominal imitator from the Cainarachi valley. It is highly variable, although typically contains more blue-green colors than other imitator.
Morph: Tarapoto
Although living in the same mountains as the nominal morph, the frogs found on the southwest slope of the Cordillera Oriental have uniform bright yellow dorsal coloration. This is sometimes referred to in the hobby as 'tera pota imitator' which is a misspelling of the city Tarapoto.
Morph: Lowland, a.k.a. 'yurimaguensis'
This frog lives in the warmer lowland forests at the feet of the Cordillera Oriental. Being sympatric with the lowland species R. ventrimaculata, this imitator morph has evolved a mimicry pattern to resemble the local ventrimaculatus. It is otherwise similar to the highland imitator, although this morph seems to be more frequently found breeding in Dieffenbachia and Xanthosoma.
Morph: Orange/Blue
This is another lowland form of imitator, first discovered in 2004 by Craig Greenhalgh on a lowland trek across part of Peru. This frog is strange in that it occurs in close proximity to the yellow-striped lowland imitator with no major barriers separating the two morphs. And as is apparent, the two morphs look nothing alike. This suggests that the frog has undergone strong local adaptation, either due to mimicry, sexual selection, or a combination of the two. In 2005 we were able to find this frog in very high densities in old secondary/young primary forest breeding in some sort of Heliconia, as well as in tree-holes. Despite the recent discovery of this frog, smugglers have already made attempts on getting large numbers of these frogs to Europe. There is currently NO LEGAL TRADE of this morph - any seen for sale in the US or Europe are due to illegal smuggling. Purchase of illegal frogs supports the practice of mass overcollection and large-scale frog mortality in transit, and hinders conservation efforts, rural farmer livelihood, and free dissemination of information. Any information regarding the appearance of these frogs on the market should be reported to us immediately in order to take the appropriate actions with the help of the Peruvian government.
Morph: Huallaga Canyon
To say the Huallaga Canyon is utterly amazing is an understatement. In a short stretch (~20 km), one can find nearly any imitator morph imaginable, many of which are perfect mimics of the sympatric fantastica (first photo, imitator is on top). Also present are the imitator sometimes referred to as 'intermedius', which simply denotes that they are blotched rather than spotted or striped, although, certain frogs (i.e. second photo) do not seem to fall into either category. These frogs breed in Heliconia (when present), but are also quick to use Dieffenbachia and Xanthosoma. Most of these morphs could technically be considered lowland, since they were typically found at lower than 300m, although most were at the foothills of mountains. This is a good place for a shout-out to John Bates (last photo, on left), a tourist that (bravely) accompanied the INIBICO field party to the Huallaga in August 2005 as part of the dendrobatid field biology workshop. He is the only man we know to have willingly put fish in oatmeal (that is what is in the cup). These frogs have been hit hard by smugglers in the past decade, hence the prevalence of imitator 'intermedius' in the hobby.
