# Puerto Rico Oophaga Pumilio



## alxamorales (Jun 14, 2009)

Is there any information out there about this locality of pumilio? From what I've heard from family is that there is a group of these guys that are rather prosperous. Any information would be greatly appreciated.


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## Julio (Oct 8, 2007)

pumilios in PR, never heard of that.


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## Jason DeSantis (Feb 2, 2006)

Any info on this would be great. I have never heard of pumilio outside of central america. What is this supposed to look like?
Jason


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## alxamorales (Jun 14, 2009)

From what's been described is that they are either indeed Blue Jeans or a morph that looks very similar to Blue Jeans. Maybe it was introduced through importation or trade? About 1,300 miles away from Central America but then again there are auratus in Hawaii.


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## Jason DeSantis (Feb 2, 2006)

Yeah but the arautus in hawaii is due to man.
Jason


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## alxamorales (Jun 14, 2009)

That's what I'm implying. Maybe they were introduced through trade or negligence.


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## boricorso (Feb 19, 2008)

There are no Oophaga in Puerto Rico......unless its been a big secret.

In the past while doing some research of the morph I found a website that mentioned a Blue Jean frog from Puerto Rico. Perhaps that is where you saw the supposed Puertorican Oophaga.

I came to the conclusion that the person that posted the article didn't know what he/she was talking about and confused Puerto rico with Costa Rica. Sadly while in highschool and college in the states many people assumed we were the same and/or one was the capital city of the other. So in my conclusion the person either made a geographic mistake or has no clue as to which country is which.

While I have no hands on facts regarding fauna in Puerto Rico at the moment I have never heard or seen a Oophaga frog in the island.......I which it was the case though.

Hope this helsp a bit.


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## alxamorales (Jun 14, 2009)

My cousin spotted one on three different occasions in Bajadero, which is about 5 minutes outside of Arecibo. What part are you from?


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## Julio (Oct 8, 2007)

well can you ask your cousin to catch it and photograph it so we can see for sure?


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## boricorso (Feb 19, 2008)

Honestly I doubt it is Oophaga.

In the event that it is it probably escaped or was released and it managed to survive....something that is highly possible but not probable. If we had a Oophaga population thriving in the island I'm preety sure word will spread out rather quickly.

If he saw 1 in three different ocasions then I would be a bit worried since a Oophaga spread through the island could quickly become a pest very much like the green iguana.

I really hope this is not the case. m While i would love to have Oophaga in Puerto Rico it would only be acceptable if they were native to our island.

To answer your question Im currently in the San Juan area. I have traveled the island quite extensively and as a biology major in college (of which i did 1 1/2 year in PR) I never saw or heard of any Oophaga native to the island.


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## boricorso (Feb 19, 2008)

Please do ask your cousin for pictures if possible.

Once I clear my schedule or decide to go surf the Arecibo area I might have to take a detour and try and get hands on knowledge of this.


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## alxamorales (Jun 14, 2009)

I agree that I highly doubt its indigenous to the island. I will ask him to see what he can do.


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## boricorso (Feb 19, 2008)

Excellent, If you do find any please let me know. I am trying to contact a friend of my fathers that teaches zoology in the UPR to get more info.

I found this article which I beleive to have the information regarding PR wrong. 

Strawberry Poison Dart Frog, Fascinating Facts About Its Biology

Also found this: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Poison_dart_frog

I really wonder where they are getting this info.

I really doubt Pr is the only Island between Cuba tp all the US and British Virgin Islands that would be lucky enough to have PDF's.

If anyone with more knowledge could chime in it would be greatly apreciated.


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## alxamorales (Jun 14, 2009)

UPR is in Yabucoa right? I almost went there for Zoology. If there are PDF's as my cousin and that article claims, they have to be elsewhere in the Carribean since there are many islands that are between Central America and Puerto Rico.


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## boricorso (Feb 19, 2008)

UPR main campus is in Rio Piedras.

They have many campusses around the island. Mayaguez and Parguera probably being the biggest ones after the main campus. Parguera is huge for Marine biology and related sciences. 

Like I said, i believe those article seem to have false or incorrect information.

The IUCN which I believe would be accurate on the information they post regarding endangered species, do not mention Puerto rico as home of the Oophaga species.

IUCN Red List (version 2009.1) - Oophaga pumilio (Strawberry Poison Frog, Flaming Poison Frog, Red-and-blue Poison Frog)

Neither does: Dendrobates.org - Oophaga

Just do a search for all PDF's if you want to find out about other species.

Time to do some work Ill check on this thread later to see if anyone has more info. Alex feel free to PM me with any info you might have.


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## sports_doc (Nov 15, 2004)

Interesting discussion. Hopefully there hasnt been any accidental introductions of a nonendemic species into PR.....as much I love pdf's.

[Additionally, some junk posts were removed]


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## markpulawski (Nov 19, 2004)

Certainly introduced would be a realisitc scenario however if they were there in any numbers I can't imagine that many people would have seen them by now. Please let us know what your cousin finds.
As an introduced species I tried to figure what a non native amphibian specifically a Pumilio could do to an eco system, perhaps displace a native frog? Can someone comment on what the potential negative impact may be?
I had heard years ago that collectors would relase species into areas of the rain forest in which they did not exist in South America so they would be easy to go and collect or "harvest" without much effort.


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## alxamorales (Jun 14, 2009)

I'm not sure how if in fact they were introduced would they affect other native species such as the coqui. Many coqui species have been displaced over the years due to construction, deforestation and alien species such as cane toads and brown tree snakes.Maybe this is a critically endangered species? I have my cousin taking a look around.I didn't tell him to capture one if he comes across for the sake of the frog and stress.


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## elscotto (Mar 1, 2005)

markpulawski said:


> As an introduced species I tried to figure what a non native amphibian specifically a Pumilio could do to an eco system, perhaps displace a native frog? Can someone comment on what the potential negative impact may be?


 I'd be very surprised if pumilio were naturalized anywhere in PR, but I guess stranger things have happened. If they had been, it sure would be interesting to measure ecosystem response to their introduction. Amphibians introduced to other parts of the world (e.g., bullfrogs, cane toads, Cuban tree frogs) did a nice job of reducing other frog populations largely by eating them, in addition to competing for resources, disease spread, etc. 
Off of the top of my head, I imagine a few potential threats from something as small as pumilio being introduced and becoming naturalized. The possibility of introducing a novel pathogen to the system would exist, with potentially catastrophic results (as was done with chytrid and other pathogens associated with amphibians). The pumilio would be in direct competition for food, and either other frogs (e.g., coqui?) would suffer from lack of resources, or the loss of collembola, etc., would disrupt ecosystem function (there is at least one paper out there looking at energy flow and nutrient cycling, and linking (or trying to link) ecosystem function, like leaf litter breakdown, and the presence of small anurans). In the end, invasive species aren't using leftover resources; they're taking them from other organisms. Lastly, upper trophic levels (like birds, snakes, small mammals) wouldn't have the evolutionary relationship with the pumilio, and might be adversely affected by eating them (some mammals in Central America "know" to flip over cane toads to when eating them to avoid their paratoid glands; mammals in Australia don't have that ability ingrained, and suffer when trying to eat the introduced toads).
I'm sure there are a number of other possible outcomes. Maybe some very bad, maybe some not obvious or noticeable, at least in the short term.
-Scott


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## Philsuma (Jul 18, 2006)

markpulawski said:


> I had heard years ago that collectors would relase species into areas of the rain forest in which they did not exist in South America so they would be easy to go and collect or "harvest" without much effort.


Mark,

This is exactly how and why the Veiled chamelieon is present in SW Florida - "farmers". It was actually introduced in a few seperate and distant locations but only the one that is on many acres of private property remains viable and sustaining. It most likely took a large release of animals and many years to achieve this and with a clutch size of 30 or more. It is also a very very tough animal.

I would think introduced pumilio would need much more assistance since it is a less fecund animal and more delicate with regards to living conditions.

Dr. Kenneth Krysko is arguably the expert on introduced herps in Florida and I think he has done some work in PR as well.....

Kenneth Krysko's Research


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## boricorso (Feb 19, 2008)

Thanks for all the info and interest in the subject.

On my part I am trying to contact some people that could provide some knowledge. Have not been very succesfull with my contacts since most are away on holidays.

If I do find anything of interest I"ll be sure to post it.


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## Jason DeSantis (Feb 2, 2006)

Any new info on this?
Jason


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## alxamorales (Jun 14, 2009)

I'm still waiting to hear something but nothing as of yet.


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## boricorso (Feb 19, 2008)

Nothing form my part, but I'm preety sure that there are no Oophaga in the island unless they were introduced recently. I really hope your cousin is wrong and that whatever he saw does not turn out to be some kind of imported Oophaga population getting settled in the island.

Made a random call to our National Resources and Wildlife agency and at least to this date nothing has been reported. Our biggest problems with introduced species seem to be turtles, monitor lizards and gators.....at least the ones that worry them the most.

Ill report anything else I might find.


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## alxamorales (Jun 14, 2009)

I feel the same way but I don't think there is any other fauna on the island that is a reddish orange that can be mistaken for a pumilio. You're not kidding about the crocidilians. The spectacled caiman has been quite a problem.


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## Philsuma (Jul 18, 2006)

Another good website for those of us into herping for invasives...

NAS - Species List

Take a close look at the 4th one down


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## alxamorales (Jun 14, 2009)

Wow, how did that one happen?


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## Jellyman (Mar 6, 2006)

Philsuma said:


> Another good website for those of us into herping for invasives...
> 
> NAS - Species List
> 
> Take a close look at the 4th one down


Unless I'm reading that wrong it says it was found in 1963?? What does status "failed" mean?


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## stemcellular (Jun 26, 2008)

Jellyman said:


> Unless I'm reading that wrong it says it was found in 1963?? What does status "failed" mean?


I interpreted it to mean that the attempt to introduce failed. Other, more successful introductions (ie. auratus) note "established".


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## Jellyman (Mar 6, 2006)

stemcellular said:


> I interpreted it to mean that the attempt to introduce failed. Other, more successful introductions (ie. auratus) note "established".


Cool, Thanks.


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## Philsuma (Jul 18, 2006)

If there is a specimen number listed....then the frog is on a shelf somewhere in preservative.

That single _Atelopus _was either an escapee or a released animal.

Still interesting no?

The Invasive Camien population is large is PR....I had no idea. Looks like it goes way back to early days of hunting and farming for Croc type leather, although Camien hides are a poor substitute....maybe food?


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## thedude (Nov 28, 2007)

on the note of possible negative impacts, maybe pumilio tads eating other frogs tadpoles could be a problem? i know its unlikely for them to be in the same small body of water, im just throwing it out there. we dont know even close to everything about how eco systems work, so there are plenty of things these frogs could do that would be problematic.

example: in the PNW, introduced nightcrawlers actually change soil quality and make it harder for certain native plants to survive there.....who would have thought??


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## boricorso (Feb 19, 2008)

The Caiman issue in Puero Rico is really not that big of an issue.....or at least has never caused that big of a controvery. It is almost an urban myth. There are Caiman in a small body of water called Laguna de Tortugero and aparently they were abandoned there by people that would buy them in florida in the 50-70's when aparently it was legal.

I remember stories (and to me that is all they are) about people supposedly winning them in fairs in Florida and bringing them in as pets. Of course once they got to big they were released and Tortugero seems to be the spot they were dumped at. So in short it had nothing to do with wanting to harvest crocodilians for their hides.

I have also read of snaping turtles found in the tortugero area but not much has been heard of them. I believe 2, are all that has been captured at the moment and they are currently under the supervision of the State in an exotic wildlife reserve.

The most recent major threat of an invasive species or at least report of it has been the importation of Pac Man frogs. While there really have not been reports of many in the wild if any......a warning about them was brought up in one of the news channels. then again this news could have been news about the frogs in the states and just brought up to our attention. I didnt see the news report (my mother did) so I cannot confirm it was due to a local issue with Pac Frogs. I jsut saw a small article in one of the papers that described what a Pac Man frog was and the damages it could do to local fauna.

Im sure imported snakes are a bigger issue but not much has been done to remedy the problem.

Alex, Does your cousin know what a Pumilio looks like? Did he give you a detailed description? or did he just say it was a red frog? Just trying to figure out what he saw.


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## Philsuma (Jul 18, 2006)

Marcos,

Seems like PR has some well established Caiman populations....since 2004:

This article is also pretty funny...
About Puerto Rico . . . Caimans



http://nas.er.usgs.gov/queries/collectioninfo.asp?NoCache=7%2F23%2F2009+7%3A14%3A38+PM&SpeciesID=222&State=&County=&HUCNumber=


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## alxamorales (Jun 14, 2009)

He said he saw a Red and blue frog. I've tried to think of alternatives to what exactly he saw but I have been having difficulty with that. I have seen Caiman along that area between Guajataca and Quebradillas but didn't know they were spotted in Moca. I stay in Aguadilla when I go to PR and that's not that far away at all. What monitor lizards have been introduced in Puerto Rico? Salvators and niloticus?


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## boricorso (Feb 19, 2008)

Mostly I know the exotic reserve has a few Savanah and Nile. I have personally seen savanah, acklin and mangrove (all in captivity). I do not think they do very well once set loose but they have been captured by natural resources officials.

As for Caiman in the Quebradillas/guajataca area.......I have never seen them but heard that there are some around. I do not think they pose much of a threat, since I have never heard of an attack in the island. I think that our locals catch them and kill them most of the time if its true they are thriving. Either that or our local fauna is not enough fo rthem to survive on. I think the same happens with the monitor lizards. Once to big they cannot get enough prey to satisfy their needs.

As of right now our biggest problem is probably the green iguana that has been doing extremely well all through the island.

Im sure there are other herps around but to this date they do not seem to be causing much trouble or our local agencies do not know a thing about what is going on (I must admit the latter is probably the most probable).


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## alxamorales (Jun 14, 2009)

Ackie monitors have been let loose in PR? That's crazy!!! I have a pair as pets. Wow.


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