Ranitomeya ventrimaculata from south of Yurimaguas in central Peru. Photo by Evan Twomey. |
Distribution
This species has one of the largest ranges of any of the Ranitomeya, occurring from the Guianas through Brazil to Ecuador, Colombia, and Peru. Though typically a lowland species, two individuals were found at 890m (June 2006) in Central Peru. View type locality in Google Maps.
Natural history
This is a bromeliad-breeding species, being commonly found in understory bromeliads of the genus Guzmania. Dry conditions which favor only canopy bromeliads, or excessively wet conditions which result in temporary flooding, appear to have caused certain population of this species to be highly arboreal.
Conservation status
Extensive captive breeding in the US and Europe has greatly decreased the demand for smuggled specimens, with the possible exception of the red and orange Iquitos morphs (a.k.a. 'amazonica'). With a range that extends throughout much of South America, R. ventrimaculata is not in particular risk of population decline.
Notes
This "species" essentially forms its own genetic group. However, due to the inclusion of R. variabilis in this group, the name ventrimaculata refers to a paraphyletic species complex that may warrant further splitting based on geography. This species falls into 3 major groups: south-Brazilian, east-Andean versant (Northern Peru to Ecuador), and central Amazon basin.
This species is morphologically conserved throughout most of its range. Much confusion has surrounded the use of the name amazonica vs. ventrimaculata. The name ventrimaculata is preferable to amazonica for these frogs. The epithet amazonica has been used in the past to describe frogs of the ventrimaculata-group found in the Iquitos region. This distinction has been made based on the red/orange color or pronounced Y-pattern of the Iquitos frogs. However, especially in dendrobatids, color is highly variable even within populations and has the potential to evolve rapidly, making it a poor character choice when defining a species. Therefore the name amazonica should be used no more than to specify a ventrimaculata from Iquitos.