Diagnosis: Epipedobates tricolor differs from members of the femoralis group by having green bones and a different striping pattern. It differs from E. anthonyi by its larger size (Silvertone 1976).
Description:
E. tricolor has a snout-vent length of approximately 22.6 mm (Hermans et al. 2002; Silverstone 1976). The skin is smooth all over the body. The projecting snout is truncate. The nostril is closer to the snout than the eye. The canthus rostralis is angular and the loreal region is vertical. A distinct tympanum is present (Boulenger 1899). The second finger is shorter than the first. Toes are basally webbed (Silverstone 1976).
Coloration: The ground color is usually dark red to brown. Three yellow-white stripes are present on the dorsum (Forsman and Hag 2006). The venter has black or brown marbling (Silverstone 1976). Hind limbs have bright red spots (Duellman and Wild 1993).
Variation: Individuals can be identified by their stripe patterns which vary (Hermans et al. 2002).
The species was originally described by Boulenger (1899).
E. tricolor and E. anthonyi were recently separated from one another (Stuart et al. 2008).
E. tricolor produces a toxin that includes epibatidine, which is an alkaloid (Gomez-Sanchez et al. 2007).
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