Andinobates geminisae-New Species of Poison Dart Frog Discovered

A new species of poison dart frog, Andinobates geminisae, has been discovered in Panama near that country’s Caribbean coast. The bright orange frog measures only about half an inch (12.77 millimeters) in length, and is described as having a rather distinct call in comparison with those of its closest relatives.
A. geminisae was first collected in Panama’s Donoso District by Samuel Valdés, at the time the environment office director for MWH Global, and Carlos de la Cruz, his assistant. The two collected the holotype, or type specimen, of A. geminisae in 2011. Two biologists, Marcos Ponce and Abel Batista, later collected more specimens.
Compared with other frogs in the region, A. geminisae differs in appearance from its closest relatives. According to Andrew Crawford, one of the authors of the study and the scientist responsible for sequencing the DNA of A. geminisae, the new species actually bears a superficial resemblance to the strawberry poison dart frog (Oophaga pumilio). O. pumilio is larger than the diminutive A. geminisae, but sports a somewhat similar orange color.
Crawford explained that this raises an intriguing possibility, namely that the two species of poison dart frog both converged on the bright orange coloration as a means of warding off predators. Known as Müllerian mimicry, this phenomenon occurs when at least two species of animals that have a venomous, poisonous or unpleasant-tasting chemical defense evolve the same or very similar warning signals.
The basic idea is that any predator that learned to avoid individuals from one species would also learn to avoid individuals from the other species. This phenomenon is distinct from Batesian mimicry, in which a species that is not dangerous or bad-tasting evolves warning colors that resemble a species that is.
However, Crawford cautioned that the possibility of Müllerian mimicry remains purely speculative at present in the case of the newly-discovered poison dart frog and the strawberry poison dart frog

Read more at http://guardianlv.com/2014/09/new-species-of-poison-dart-frog-discovered/#CDQcRy2vtmvf6VLt.99