By Doug Diemer
Geographic Range
Dendrobates lehmanni, or Lehmann's poison frog is restricted to the Anchicaya Valley near Dagua, Colombia in South America (Edobermeyer 1999).
Biogeographic Regions:
neotropical 
(native ).
Habitat
Dendrobates lehmanni is found in the rain forests of Columbia. These frog are usually found on the ground but can sometimes be found in low bushes and trees (Edobermeyer 1999).
Terrestrial Biomes:
rainforest .
Physical Description
Lehmann's poison frog is one of the larger dendrobatids at 31 to 36 mm (Edobermeyer 1999). There are three color morphs of D. lehmanni; red, orange, and yellow against a black or bark brown background (Mzoo 1999). The frog is mainly dark colored and is encircled by two brightly colored bands. One band is behind the head and the other is around the hump of the back. The brightly colored patterns are broken up irregularly by the dark. The arms and legs are also circled by the bright colors (Edobermeyer 1999). The bright color pattern that these frogs have developed is called an aposematic coloration. It is supposed to warn possible predators that they are very poisonous. The skin of D. lehmanni is smooth and the first digit is a little shorter then the second (Edobermeyer 1999).
Reproduction
The mating season for Lehmann's poison frog begins after the wet season. The males find a good place to store the eggs and then attract the female through a series of elaborate calls. When a female finds a male she deposits a few large eggs on leaves that are about 1.2 m above the forest floor in the area that he has selected. The male picks an area that is near water to insure that the eggs stay wet. After the eggs are laid the male will fertilize, protect, and keep them wet. In about 2 to 4 weeks the male will carry the tadpoles to water via sticky mucous on his back. The male will usually take each tadpole to a different site because they can be cannibalistic. The bodies of water that the tadpoles develop in are often in branches, hollow trees, and bamboo stalks. The tadpoles develop into frogs in about 2 to 3 months (David 1999).
Behavior
No information could be found.
Food Habits
Dendrobates lehmanni is an insectivore (Vazquez 1997). As tadpoles the frogs are fed unfertilized eggs by the parents. The young can also be cannibalistic (David 1999).
Economic Importance for Humans: Positive
The toxic skin secretions of D.lehmanni are being studied for medicinal purposes.
Conservation Status
IUCN Red List: [link]:
Critically Endangered.
US Federal List: [link]:
No special status.
CITES: [link]:
Appendix II.
Dendrobates lehmanni is a protected species (Vazquez 1997). They are being exported from their home land for use in the pet trade. This species is listed as critically endangered by the IUCN and is in CITES Appendix II.
Other Comments
Dendrobates lehmanni produce toxins in their skin that can be very poisonous. Some of the native tribes of Columbia coat their darts with the poison produced by the frogs. When bred in captivity the frogs are not poisonous because the diet that they are fed lacks the precursors needed to produce the poison (Vazquez 1997).
For More Information
Find Dendrobates lehmanni information at
Contributors
Doug Diemer (author), Michigan State University.
James Harding 
(editor), Michigan State University.
