Ranitomeya variabilis from the Cainarachi Valley in central Peru. Photo by Jason Brown.

Distribution

Highlands of the Cordillera Oriental near Tarapoto, Peru, between elevations of 400 and 1400 meters. Previously thought to be restricted to northern San Martin, though similarly patterned individuals have been found in northern Peru and Ecuador. View type locality in Google Maps.

Natural history

This is a bromeliad-breeding species and ecologically very similar to its close relative, R. ventrimaculata. These frogs can reach high abundances where bromeliads are common, such as high elevation ridgelines or other epiphyte-laden habitats.

Call recording

Conservation status

Most suitable R. variabilis habitat is well conserved. Being mainly found in steep mountains, deforestation is much more difficult that in the lowlands. Smuggling pressure has been low when compared to other species.

Notes

Member of the ventrimaculata group, genetically similar to adjacent populations of R. ventrimaculata. There has been considerable debate over whether R. variabilis is a valid species, since its positioning in the phylogeny renders R. ventrimaculata paraphyletic. However, many feel that R. ventrimaculata is actually a morphologically conserved species complex composed of three main biogeographic clades. This species also faces another taxonomic problem in that the original description fails to specify an adequate type locality for the holotype, a critical part of any species description. Zimmerman simply states 'Department San Martin, Peru', which has multiple morphs of R. variabilis and R. ventrimaculata, and therefore leaves room for speculation as to what is the 'true' R. variabilis.

Nominal morph

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Southern morph

Although at first glance this morph looks like the nominal variabilis, it is worth mentioning as a distinct morph. First, the dorsum typically lacks the blues found in the nominal variabilis. The legs also tend to be solid blue and with very large black spots. The southern morph is also larger than the nominal morph. However, the best reason for a distinction to be made is geography, being separated from the nominal morph by two mountain ranges. It will be an interesting study to see whether the closest relative to this frog is a ventrimaculata or variabilis. Strangely, the evolution of spots in high elevations has occurred more that once in the ventrimaculata group; both in Peru and in Ecuador. The third and fourth pictures show a comparison between the nominal and southern morph. The southern morph is pictured on the bottom and top, respectively.

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