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Marañón Poison Frog
Excidobates mysteriosus
The 'Ghost of Marañón'. This near-mythological frog is brown/black heavily dotted with large white polka dots. Exceedingly rare, it breeds exclusively inside terrestrial Bromeliads.
Class:Amphibia
Order:Anura
Family:Dendrobatidae
Subfamily:Dendrobatinae
Genus:Excidobates
Species:Excidobates mysteriosus
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Environment
Terrestrial
Humidity
70 - 90 %
Day temperature
22 - 28 °C
Night temperature
20 - 22 °C
UVB
Low
Species description
Geographical Origin and Habitat: Endemic to a restricted mountainous area in the Marañón River canyon of northwestern Peru. They inhabit dry rocky zones and mountain scrublands, living in close association with terrestrial bromeliads that provide moisture and shelter.
Taxonomy and Genetics: A member of the Dendrobatidae family, commonly known as the Marañón Poison Frog. This species features a striking glossy black or dark brown body entirely covered in large, circular white or cream polka dots.
Behavior and Habits: Diurnal, active, and agile. They spend most of their time climbing among bromeliad leaves. Males are highly vocal, defending their territory with a metallic trilling call, and carry tadpoles on their backs to bromeliad water pools.
Morphology: Adults reach a length of approximately 2.5 cm. Mature females are slightly larger and rounder than males. Males are slimmer and possess a dark vocal sac on their throat.
Care, breeding and tankmates
Terrarium Setup: Requires a vertically oriented terrarium (e.g. 45x45x60 cm) furnished with climbing branches, bark backgrounds, and several live bromeliads (Neoregelia) filled with water. The substrate should be a well-draining mix topped with dry oak leaves.
Lighting and Heating: Maintain daytime temperatures between 24 and 26°C, dropping to 20-21°C at night. Temperatures above 28°C can be fatal. Provide low-intensity 5% UVB lighting along with LED plant lights.
Humidity and Hydration: High humidity (80-90%) is required, achieved through regular misting with RO or declorinated water. Proper ventilation is critical to ensure fresh air flow and prevent bacterial skin infections.
Feeding and Supplementation: Feed daily with very small live prey, such as wingless fruit flies (Drosophila melanogaster) and springtails. Dust all prey items with high-quality calcium and vitamin D3 powder.
Compatibility: Best housed as single mated pairs. Females can be highly territorial and aggressive towards each other. Do not mix with other species of poison frogs.
Health and Common Diseases: Never handle with bare hands as human skin contact causes osmotic stress. Ensure the enclosure is clean to prevent bacterial septicemia. Prone to snout-rubbing injuries if stressed.
Geographic Origin and Distribution
Endemic to a restricted mountainous area in the Marañón River canyon of northwestern Peru. They inhabit dry rocky zones and mountain scrublands, living in close association with terrestrial bromeliads that provide moisture and shelter.
Origin
Extra-Amazon South America
Amphibian profile
- Diet
- No verified data available
- Life expectancy
- No verified data available
- Adult size
- 2.93 cm
- Lifestyle/Microhabitat
- No verified data available
- Activity cycle
- No verified data available
- Sociality
- No verified data available
- Reproduction
- No verified data available
- Toxicity
- No verified data available
- Life stage
- No verified data available
- Handling tolerance
- No verified data available
- Brumation
- No verified data available
- Molting
- No verified data available
The catalog's scalar value is 2.93 cm. The AmphiBIO v1 source reports a maximum adult measurement of 2.93 cm for this species, recorded as snout–vent length (SVL). These figures are not interchangeable: the first is the profile's editorial reference, whereas the second is a published maximum under a specific measurement convention; differences among sources can reflect sex, population, life stage and measuring method.
Image gallery
Licensed images linked to the species or, when marked, to the closest representative taxon.
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