Red-backed poison frog

Males stick the tadpoles to their backs using a water-soluble mucus, then carry them into the canopy.1

Males place the tadpoles in tiny pools that collect in the centre of bromeliad plants. The mother then feeds them infertile eggs laid in the water.1

Once they become froglets, the young are led to an existing group, where all members accept them, though only their parents care for them.1

It is the second most poisonous frog in its genus Ranitomeya, after R. variabilis.1

Breeding gatherings take place at the end of the wet season, so the eggs are laid at the start of the next wet season, when the young have a steady supply of water.1

Deforestation for charcoal and the capture of frogs for the international pet trade are the main threats to it.1