Red-headed Poison Frog Ranitomeya fantastica Photo Credit: A. Stuckert via cute frog of the week flickr pool.

The red-headed poison frog is known for its most unique feature, its fire-orange head and throat, from which it received its name. Below the orange, it typically sports a white dorsum band followed by unique black and grey patterning. The red-headed poison frog is endemic to Peru and is restricted to a small land distribution of the San Martin and Loreto regions, making it extremely vulnerable to habitat loss. It is a small, highly active and dangerous frog. If threatened, it has the ability to secrete poisonous toxins from its skin. But despite their danger to humans, the red-headed poison frog population is decreasing because of their high demand in the pet trade. These threats to the species have led to the conservation status ‘Near Threatened’ on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species.

Every week the Panama Amphibian Rescue and Conservation Project posts a new photo of a cute frog from anywhere in the world with an interesting, fun and unique story to tell. Be sure to check back every Monday for the latest addition.

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