Ranitomeya imitator

The **mimic poison frog** or **imitating poison frog** (_Ranitomeya imitator_) is a frog.  It lives in Peru.

## Body

This frog can be 17 to 22 mm long from nose to rear end. It has disks on its toes for climbing.

Frogs that live in the same places as _Ranitomeya variabilis_ look like _Ranitomeya variabilis_: The front of the body is black with a yellow pattern. The belly and legs are black with a blue-green pattern. But the black spots on their noses are different. _R. imitator_ has a gold pattern on the spot. The eggs are different colors. The male frogs' voices are different.

Frogs that live in the same places as _Ranitomeya ventrimaculata_ look like _Ranitomeya ventrimaculata_: The body is black with yellow stripes. But _R. imitator_ is smaller and has  different colors on its belly, and the male frogs' voices are different.

Frogs that live in the same places as _Ranitomeya fantastica_ look like _Ranitomeya fantastica_: The frogs' bodies are black with thin yellow stripes and the legs are black with a blue-green pattern. But _R. imitator_ has a black spot on its nose with gold color in it. The male frogs' voices sound different.

## Colors

Different frogs in this species can be different colors. Scientists call this a color morph. Each color morph of _Ranitomeya imitator_ looks like a different other frog: _Ranitomeya fantastica_, _Ranitomeya variabilis_, and _Ranitomeya ventrimaculata_.  All of these other frogs are poisonous. Other animals that try to eat one of these frogs learn that they taste bad or make them sick, so if they see another frog with those colors, they do not eat it. _R. imitator_ can look so much like other frogs that scientists tell them apart by looking at the colors of the eggs and by listening to the calls male frogs make to female frogs.

_Ranitomeya imitator_ is poisonous too. So an animal can learn about the poison by trying to eat either kind of frog.

## Home

This frog lives in rainforests that have never been cut down and in rainforests that have been cut down and have had a long time to grow back. People have seen this frog between 200 and 1200 meters above sea level. This frog is awake during the day.

The male frogs choose good places to live and will fight other male frogs. Usually, they pick one good plant as a place to rest and they look for food near there.

## Life

Male and female _R. imitator_ frogs choose only one partner instead of mating with as many as they can. They are the only amphibian that does this. Scientists say this is unusual because most animals that have one partner start with the female parent taking care of the young. _R. imitator_ started with the male frog taking care of the young.  In _R. imitator_, the female frog lays eggs on the ground. After they hatch, both parents carry the tadpoles to pools of water in bromeliad plants.  The male frog remembers where the tadpoles are and returns to look at them.  The male frog calls to the female frog and leads her to each one. She lays an egg that will not hatch for the tadpole to eat.  The tadpoles swim and wiggle to tell the adult frog that they need food.

## Food

These frogs eat ants, mites, and other animals without bones, for example flies, beetles, and springtails.

## Danger

Scientists believe this frog is not danger of dying out because it lives in a large place. But it is in some danger because people cut down trees to build farms, make places for animals to eat grass, and get wood to build with. People catch this frog to sell as a pet.

Many of the places this frog lives are protected parks, for example Parque Nacional Cordillera Azul and the Regional Conservation Area of Cordillera Escaler.