Ranitomeya variabilis (Zimmermann & Zimmermann, 1988)

Open encyclopedia reference

Ranitomeya variabilis, formerly known as Dendrodates variabilis, is a species of small poison dart frog distributed in northern Peru, along the eastern slope of Andes in the upper Rio Huallaga drainage basin. Its common name, Zimmerman's poison frog, is named after Elke Zimmermann, a German zoologist who described the morph of this species and differentiated it from D. ventrimaculatus. The species was formerly considered to be synonymous with Ranitomeya ventrimaculata.

Ranitomeya variabilis usually has a bright yellow body with deep blue limbs, and black spots or stripes across the ventral side of the body. The colors change in some geographic locations. R. variabilis has different mimicry relationships with two other species. Like other frogs in the same family, R. variabilis has toxic skin alkaloid which repels potential predators.

R. variabilis are cannibalistic even as tadpoles, so adult male parents may allow tadpoles to jump on their backs and transport them to less crowded areas. Adult R. variabilis use chemical cues to determine the presence of tadpoles and whether they are cannibalistic or not.

Wikipedia contributors, Zimmerman's poison frog; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T18:26:27.971070+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.

Identity & source status

Scientific name

Ranitomeya variabilis (Zimmermann & Zimmermann, 1988)

Name authority

(Zimmermann & Zimmermann, 1988)

Rank

species

Accepted status

accepted

Kingdom

Animalia

Phylum

Chordata

Class

Amphibia

Order

Anura

Family

Dendrobatidae

Genus

Ranitomeya

Extinction status

Recorded extant

Classification family tree

Nested taxonomic groups from the source. This is not a direct-ancestor chain, a dated evolutionary tree or a phylogenetic reconstruction.

1. domainEukaryota (Chatton, 1925) Whittaker & Margulis, 1978
2. kingdomAnimalia
3. phylumChordata
4. subphylumVertebrata
5. infraphylumGnathostomata
6. parvphylumOsteichthyes
7. megaclassTetrapoda
8. classAmphibia
9. orderAnura
10. superfamilyDendrobatoidea Cope, 1865
11. familyDendrobatidae Cope, 1865
12. subfamilyDendrobatinae Cope, 1865
13. genusRanitomeya Bauer, 1986
14. speciesRanitomeya variabilis (Zimmermann & Zimmermann, 1988)

Close classified relatives

These entries share the source’s genus, Ranitomeya. They are not necessarily the closest relatives established by molecular evidence.

Browse 147 records assigned to Dendrobatidae.

Names & synonyms

Names explicitly linked to this accepted taxon in the source. Synonymy can change with revision.

Source literature & publication evidence

References attached to this source record, including nomenclatural citations where supplied. This is a selected bibliography; abbreviated citations remain in the source’s form.

1. https://www.itis.gov/servlet/SingleRpt/SingleRpt?search_topic=TSN&search_value=774065 Source fields: Taxon.tsv dwc:namePublishedIn, Taxon.tsv dcterms:references

Origins, evidence & remaining research

Name authority and publication references document nomenclature where the source supplies it. They do not establish evolutionary origins or the earliest fossil occurrence.

Specimen-level evidence, morphology, ecological research, phylogenetic studies, a comprehensive bibliography and a located literary passage have not yet been compiled for this record. A suitable sourced image remains to be added.

Dataset citation & attribution

This exact taxon in ChecklistBank · Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11

Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11; dataset 316321; doi:10.48580/dgz5n. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ . Retrieved 5 October 2026.

Stable key: col:4RFBF. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.