Quite distinctive, adults are typically black or deep chocolate brown with large green or greenish-yellow markings over the entire body. Another extremely important physical characteristic of D. auratus is their poison glands located throughout the surface of the body. Their bright colors are believed to encourage predators with color vision to avoid the frogs. The boldly contrasting patterns may be aposematic to those predators that lack color vision, although this has not been proven. As is true of most frogs, adults have a fused head and trunk with no tail. Tadpoles use gills to breathe, unlike the adults, which breathe through lungs. Tadpoles also lack legs and have tails, which is appropriate for their watery habitat. There is little, if any, obvious sexual dimorphism. Fully adult females may be slightly larger and, if gravid, slightly more robust than the males. The sexes are more acurately told apart by behavior. Only the males vocalize. During calling, the vocal sac of the male is inflated. Calling serves to announce the male's presence to females and to signal other males not to enter his territory.

D. auratus adults are found on the floor of rain forests. They prefer locations near small streams or pools. The tadpoles live in these small pools or streams. Where the frogs live in the heavily populated areas of Hawaii, the eggs are often deposited in broken beer bottles or old cans instead of the usual puddle. (Whitfield 1984)

Biomes: tropical rainforest

Southern Nicaragua to the Golfo de Urabá in Colombia on the Caribbean and from Costa Rica through Panama to the lower Atrato River drainage of western Colombia, 0-800 m elevation; introduced in Oahu, Hawaii, USA.

The mating season of D. auratus occurs throughout the entire rainy season of the rain forest, from mid-July through mid-September. Male frogs go through an elaborate ritual to attract mates. The male first fight among themselves to establish territories, which are then fixed for the remainder of the mating season. The male then attracts a female with vocalizations consisting of trilling sounds. Part of mating behavior involves the frogs rubbing against each other. Once the courtship ritual is completed, the female lays up to six eggs in a small pool of water. The eggs are encased in a gelatinous substance for protection. During the two week development period, the male returns to the eggs periodically to check on them. Once the tadpoles hatch, they climb onto the males back and he carries them to a place suitable for further development, such as a lake or a stream. For the duration of this trip, the tadpoles are attached to the males back by a mucus secretion, which is soluble only in water so that there is no chance of them accidentally falling off. Once they are at their final destination, the tadpoles are on their own. They take an additional six weeks to develop into adult frogs. (Mattison 1987)

D. auratus feeds mostly on spiders and small insects such as ants and termites which they find on the floor of the forest. They capture their prey by using their sticky, retractible tounges as well as their excellent eyesight. (Obst 1988)

D. auratus are diurnal, and are seldom still during the day, constantly searching for food and taking care of young with distinctive hopping motions. Although the color pattern of the forgs is used to warn predators of their poison and not to attract mates, the mating ritual is quite elaborate. The male frogs with fight each other, and when the females have chosen their mate, the males stay in their own territories. (Mattison 1987)

D. auratus are not currently listed as in danger. However, with the destruction of their habitat, tropical rain forests, it is now likely that in a short time they will be in trouble. In fact, it is speculated that members of the genus Dendrobates will be the first poison dart frogs to be put on the endanged list of a major conservation organization such as CITES or ESA.

D. auratus have long been used by local peoples to provide poison for their weapons. Currently the possibility of various medicines being derived from the frogs is being explored. Pharmaceutical companies are investigating the possibilities of a painkiller, ABT-594, being developd from a compound called epibatidine, which is found in D. auratus . The drug has the potential to be approximately 200 times more potent than morphine in blocking pain in animals, yet shows no sign of side effects of addiction. Since there have been over 80 alkaloids discovered from the 20 species of dendrobatids, there is much more research being conducted, especially on the effects of the alkaloids on neurological and muscular disorders. These frogs are also bred in captivity and sold extensively in the exotic pet trade. People enjoy them as pets because they are so colorful, and although they provide a challenge to owners, they do fairly well in captivity. Poison dart frogs appear to be highly adaptable, since they do well in aquariums, and they were successfully introduced in Hawaii. They make excellent pets for decoration, although they can't be touched because of their toxicity. They are colorful and lively, as well as being relatively easy to maintain. They do, however, tend to lose their toxicity when kept in captivity, possibly because of the loss of wild food sources. With the rain forests disappearing every day, the danger to the frogs is evident.

McKeown, Sean. A Field Guide to Reptiles and Amphibians in the Hawaiian Islands. Diamond Head Publishing Company, 1996

Mattison, Christopher. Frogs & Toads of the World. New York: Facts on File, 2003

Obst, Fritz Jurgen. Completely Illustrated Atlas of Reptiles and Amphibians for the Terrarium. Neptune City: TFH Publications, 1989

Whitfield, Philip (Editor). Macmillan Illustrated Animal Encyclopedia. New York: Macmillan Publishing Co., Inc., 1984