Natural History:
The Ucayali Rocket Frog is often called the Dull Rocket Frog due to its more drab colouraiton when compared to other species of rocket frog. Rocket Frogs are a distant group of Dendrobatidae poison frogs endemic to the New World. While other groups of dart frogs contain toxins in their skin there is a lack of accessible data in regards to the toxicity of species in the genus; Colostethus.
The Ucayali Rocket Frog breeds roughly two months into the wet season. During this time the male becomes increasingly territorial and will defend a female from other males using his territorial call. Like most other frogs, the male also has a breeding call as well which is used to attract the female. Breeding typically lasts just under an hour as the male holds onto the female to fertilize the eggs once they are laid. Eggs are typically lain terrestrially,close to stream or ponds. Once hatched the tadpoles are moved to the nearby pond or stream where they are left to fend for themselves.
Like the Crested Forest Toad (Rhinella margaritifer complex) it is believed that the Ucayali Rocket Frog represents a species complex where the species is made up of at least one other unsubscribed species in the Venezuelan extent of the frog's range.
Anecdotal:
While in Peru we went to the highlands which had not been flooded from the wet season so we could walk in the hopes of seeing some terrestrial species. The area we had went to was commonly called "Frog Valley" due to the large population of dart frogs present there. Not far after we started walking we noticed many Yellow-Spotted Poison Frogs along with a reddish poison frog species. Further along crossing the path we had found a Ucayali Rocket Frog. Because of the tour company we had visited with we were not able to touch any wildlife so we tried to catch the little frog in a large leaf. As we got close to the frog it would dart away to where it thought it was safe, camouflaging perfectly in the leaf litter. This happened several times before the Ucayali Rocket Frog proved it was much faster than both the guide and myself. After several tries it finally escaped into the leaf litter never to be seen again. Luckily I was able to document my sighting thanks to a photo I had taken before we tried to catch the little bugger.
The Ucayali Rocket Frog is often called the Dull Rocket Frog due to its more drab colouraiton when compared to other species of rocket frog. Rocket Frogs are a distant group of Dendrobatidae poison frogs endemic to the New World. While other groups of dart frogs contain toxins in their skin there is a lack of accessible data in regards to the toxicity of species in the genus; Colostethus.
The Ucayali Rocket Frog breeds roughly two months into the wet season. During this time the male becomes increasingly territorial and will defend a female from other males using his territorial call. Like most other frogs, the male also has a breeding call as well which is used to attract the female. Breeding typically lasts just under an hour as the male holds onto the female to fertilize the eggs once they are laid. Eggs are typically lain terrestrially,close to stream or ponds. Once hatched the tadpoles are moved to the nearby pond or stream where they are left to fend for themselves.
Like the Crested Forest Toad (Rhinella margaritifer complex) it is believed that the Ucayali Rocket Frog represents a species complex where the species is made up of at least one other unsubscribed species in the Venezuelan extent of the frog's range.
Anecdotal:
While in Peru we went to the highlands which had not been flooded from the wet season so we could walk in the hopes of seeing some terrestrial species. The area we had went to was commonly called "Frog Valley" due to the large population of dart frogs present there. Not far after we started walking we noticed many Yellow-Spotted Poison Frogs along with a reddish poison frog species. Further along crossing the path we had found a Ucayali Rocket Frog. Because of the tour company we had visited with we were not able to touch any wildlife so we tried to catch the little frog in a large leaf. As we got close to the frog it would dart away to where it thought it was safe, camouflaging perfectly in the leaf litter. This happened several times before the Ucayali Rocket Frog proved it was much faster than both the guide and myself. After several tries it finally escaped into the leaf litter never to be seen again. Luckily I was able to document my sighting thanks to a photo I had taken before we tried to catch the little bugger.