Green-and-black Poison Dart Frog
Dendrobates auratus
(Girard, 1855)
DEN-droh-BAY-teez — aw-RAY-tus
SSAR 9th Edition Comments:
Native to southern Nicaragua, south to Colombia. It is established in the canyons above Honolulu, O'ahu, Hawai'i (McKeown, 1996, Diamond Head Publishing, Incorporated, Los Osos, California).
(Krysko, Kenneth and Travis W. Taggart. 2025. Established Exotic Species. Pages 64-87 in Kirsten E. Nicholson (Editor), Scientific and Standard English Names of Amphibians and Reptiles of North America North of Mexico, with Comments Regarding Confidence in Our Understanding, 9th Edition. Society for the Study of Amphibians and Reptiles, Lawrence, Kansas. 87 pp.)
Range maps are based on curated specimens and provided gratis by CNAH.
(Created by Travis W. Taggart; Version: 2025.03.29.21.29.03)
Download GeoJSON polygon range file: - 0.04 MB
Province/State Distribution:
United States: Hawaii
Taxonomic Etymology:
The scientific name Dendrobates auratus combines Greek and Latin roots describing the frog's habitat and appearance:
Dendrobates —
From Greek:
δένδρον (dendron) = “tree”
βάτης (batēs) = “walker” or “one who walks”
Together, Dendrobates means “tree walker”, referring to these frogs’ arboreal habits—they are often found on or near trees.
auratus —
From Latin:
auratus = “golden” or “gilded”
(from aurum = “gold”)
This refers to the bright golden-yellow coloration common in this species.
First instance(s) of published English names:
Gold Arrow-poison Frog (Dendrobates auratus: Cochran, Doris M. 1961. Living Amphibians of the World. Doubleday, Garden City, New York. pp.); Green and Black Poison Frog (Dendrobates auratus: Frank, N. and E. Ramus. 1995. Complete Guide to Scientific and Common Names of Amphibians and Reptiles of the World. N. G. Publishing Inc., Pottsville, Pennsylvania. pp.);
Catalog of American Amphibians and Reptiles
Amphibian Species of the World
GenBank
USGS - Nonindigenous Aquatic Species Database
Selected References:
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1855
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Girard, Charles. Abstract of a report to Lieut. James M. Gilliss, U.S.N., upon the reptiles collected during the U.S.N. Astronomical Expedition to Chili. Proceedings of the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia 7:226
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1996
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McKeown, Sean. A Field Guide to Reptiles and Amphibians in the Hawaiian Islands. Diamond Head Publishing, Inc., Los Osos, California. pp.
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2005
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Lannoo, Michael (Editor) Amphibian Declines: The Conservation Status of United States Species. University fo California Press, Berkeley. 1115pp.
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2013
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Zug, George R. Reptiles and Amphibians of the Pacific Islands. University of California Press., Berkeley. pp.
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2022
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Meshaka, Walter E. Jr., R. Bruce Bury, Suzanne L. Collins, and Malcolm L. McCallum. Exotic Amphibians and Reptiles of the United States. University Press of Florida, Gainesville, Florida. 245pp.
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