book of taxonomy?

[Tara Garratt]

Hi everyone.

I have an odd question. Is there a book or information available regarding the taxonomy for the subspecies of dendrobates? Is there information out there that tells people what criteria to look for in species and subspecies of these frogs? I have been looking, but have not been especially successful in finding anything. There are so many subspecies and each looks so different. I would like to find information regarding the criteria one should look for--what makes the subspecies special (eg. size, colour patern, body structure etc.). I hope people understand what I mean.

Any help would be appreciated.

Thanks,
Tara Garratt

[Emily-Fisher]

Can you be a bit more specific? I think that i can help but I'm still not sure about what you are asking for....sorry!!

[Tara Garratt]

Well, for example there are lots of subspecies of tinctorius. What makes a Cobalt a Cobalt, a Powder Blue a Powder Blue, or a Brazilian Yellowhead a Brazilian Yellowhead? What sets each subspecies apart? There must be some things to look for in each. As well, with these criteria (that I don't know what they are or where to find them), there must be ways to judge the quality of a particular frog within its subspecies and species. Does that make more sense?

Thanks for any help you can give.

Tara Garratt

[Mark Pepper]

Hi tara,

they are not subspecies per say, the term commonly used would be morph or colour morph. Tinctorious has not yet been broken up into subspecies. These morphs of tincs, cobalts, brazillian yellowheads, yellowbacks, etc. are all naturally occuring, in many/most cases isolated populations of tinctorius which exhibit different colour paterns, and in some cases minor morphological differences than other nearby populations. There definetley needs to be a good complete tinc morphs guide, and there was one on the net a few years ago, but its long gone. Tincs are incredibly variable frogs, with many many naturally occuring morphs, it can be confusing to keep them all straight.

Jewls of the Rainforest has several good photos of various tincs, but doesnt really name them, and by no means a comprehensive collection, best thing to do is check around the internet and soon enough you will become familiar with them.

Mark

[Tara Garratt]

Thanks Mark!
As always you have the information I need/want. Some of the pictures on the net are so different from one another and yet people say they are the same type of frog. A newbie like me might have a hard time discerning which (or all) is the "best." I am so used to dogs where there is a breed standard. Yes there are variations, but faults are generally outlined clearly. I guess I will just keep looking at pictures (and bugging you for your expertise and opinions).

Thanks again for the reply.

Tara Garratt