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Oophaga

Oophaga
Oophaga pumilio Zoo.jpg
Oophaga pumilio
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Amphibia
Order: Anura
Family: Dendrobatidae
Subfamily: Dendrobatinae
Genus: Oophaga
Bauer, 1994
Type species
Dendrobates pumilio
Schmidt, 1857
Diversity
9 species (see text)

Oophaga is a genus of poison-dart frogs containing nine species, many of which were formerly in the Dendrobates genus. The frogs are distributed in Central and South America, from Nicaragua through the Colombian El Choco to northern Ecuador (at elevations below 1,200 m (3,900 ft)). Their habitats vary with some species being arboreal while other being terrestrial, but the common feature is that their tadpoles are obligate egg feeders.

Oophaga, Greek for "egg eater" (oon, phagos), is descriptive of the tadpoles' diet.

While presumably all dendrobatids show parental care, this is unusually advanced in Oophaga: the tadpoles feed exclusively on unfertilized eggs supplied as food by the mother; the father is not involved. Through the eggs, the mother also passes defensive toxins to the tadpoles: Oophaga pumilio tadpoles experimentally fed with eggs from alkaloid-free frogs did not contain alkaloids.

There are nine species in this genus:

Oophaga are kept as pets, but they are challenging to breed in captivity. Oophaga pumilio, however, is easier to breed and popular.


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