The Painted Ant Nest Frog (Lithodytes lineatus) typically inhabits leaf cutter ant mounds (Atta cephalotes) or the leaf litter near them. The frog is believed to be a poison frog mimic (mimicking frogs of the family Dendrobatidae) but has skin toxins of its own. This makes the frog a Mullerian co-mimic. The frog also produces chemicals that chemically mimic ants and allow the frog to live within the ant mounds essentially undetected. This ability is known as chemical mimicry. They deposit clutches of eggs in pools of water in or near leaf cutter ant mounds the tadpoles are electric pink in color. This specimen was photographed in Amazonian Peru in 2018. | |
Lizenzart: | Lizenzpflichtig |
Credit: | Science Photo Library / Fenolio, Dante |
Bildgröße: | 6000 px × 4000 px |
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