Bumblebee dart frog

Dartfrogfreak · #1 (**permalink**) 09-12-2005, 01:55 AM

I was at the petshop yesterday getting a new ten gallon & decided to visit Reptile room . While I was looking at all the animals in there I saw a tank labeled "Bumblebee Dart Frog" underneath it was labeled "D. Leucamelas"

It was obviously at least a sub-adult frog. what was strange about this frog is I have never seen a Leuc like this before . It had narrower bands of orange & no black spots in the bands. It kinda reminded me of D. Lehmanni.

Is there another form of Leucs that look like D. Lehmanni or could this be a mislabeled frog?

Any input appreciated,

TODD

Dane · #2 (**permalink**) 09-12-2005, 08:18 PM

There was a new shipment of leucs recently from a different location than most of those in the hobby now. That might have been it, but they were about twice the price of normal Leucs.

AZDR_A · #3 (**permalink**) 09-12-2005, 08:45 PM

Sounds like recent British Guiana imported leucs. Some had little to no spotting in the bands. And a different body shape than the leucs in the hobby.

An interesting note that can be found in Jewels of the rainforest on page 111, it says that "In Leucs, because the omosternum is absent, this species traditionally has been considered a close relative of D. Histrionicus, which also lacks the omosternum. Interestingly it would be the only member of the Histrionicus-group of Dendrobates known to lack tadpoles that need food eggs. "

It's also said that Histrionicus are very closely related to Lehmanni. And it's been speculated that Lehmanni may just be another form of Histrionicus.

It's ironic that one of the most common and low priced dart frogs in the community may be closely related to some of the most desired and rare frogs.

joshsfrogs · #4 (**permalink**) 09-12-2005, 09:41 PM

Is this a new leuc morph or just some variation in the same "morph" of the leucs we have in the hobby now?

Dendro Dave · #5 (**permalink**) 09-12-2005, 11:26 PM

Buy it, and post a pic

or buy it, ship it to me and i'll post a pic

Dartfrogfreak · #6 (**permalink**) 09-13-2005, 01:03 AM

Sorry Dave pet shop prices for darts is way out of my range .
just to give you idea on price here last time they had D. Azureus froglets 4-6 weeks old they wanted $124 n they want $125 for this leuc & it does not look healthy .

I will see if it is still alive this week if I can get a pic af it .

TODD

Dendro Dave · #7 (**permalink**) 09-13-2005, 09:53 AM

ya i just got a pair of azureus about a month ago from a local shop...bout the only place u can get a dart frog here with in 100 square miles probably...the operator buys some of his nephew's stock...but so far they've only had azures, green auratus and cobalt tincs...all on the skinny side and in a so so setup...but so hard to get around here without buying online (which i'll do for big orders) i finally gave in a picked up 2 of the 4 azures they had...they were selling all 3 species for 60 each...which is ok for tincs and azures...but 60 dollor auratus...no thank you. The guy wouldnt even deal with me, i offered to take all 4 for a lil bit of a discount but he was like nah...and im pretty sure they were the same frogs that were there 2-3 months earlier and had not sold....he said for what he got em for he couldnt give me a break...guess he was lying or his nephew is screwing him over