Animal
Blue poison frog
A tiny amphibian from Suriname with blue skin, dark spots and a life beside forest streams.
Content language
Blue skin and black spots give this amphibian a striking appearance, even though its body is only a few centimetres long. The blue poison frog is a blue form of the dyeing poison frog, Dendrobates tinctorius. It comes from Suriname in South America, where it inhabits damp patches of forest close to small streams. An adult weighs about three grams.
Despite its association with climbing, it often stays near the ground among rocks, moss and forest debris. It can also climb vegetation. It is active during the day, unlike the adult green tree python encountered in the same vivarium. In the wild, it eats small invertebrates, including ants, beetles and termites. Living close to water does not mean spending its entire life in it.
Its toes are not webbed, and it is not a strong swimmer. The expanded tips of its toes help it grip surfaces. Its development includes a tailed tadpole stage, with a shape quite different from that of the adult frog. This small animal therefore has two distinct stages of life: an aquatic larva and an adult living in the damp forest.
For children
This blue frog weighs only a few grams. Dark spots decorate its skin, and its body is just a few centimetres long. The blue poison frog comes from Suriname, a country in South America. In the wild, it lives in damp forest near small streams.
A climbing frog might sound as though it spends all day in a tree. In fact, this frog often moves near the ground among rocks and plants, although it can climb too. During the day, it looks for small invertebrates such as ants and termites. Wide toe tips help it grip surfaces.
It lives close to water but is not a good swimmer and has no webbing between its toes. Before becoming an adult frog, it goes through a tadpole stage with a tail. Its body then has a completely different shape.
Question 1 of 2
Which country is the blue poison frog native to?
- Location
- Vivarium in the zoo headquarters lobby