Description
Ranitomeya imitator ‘Banded’ is a small thumbnail dart frog from the San Martín region of north-central Peru, particularly around Sauce and the Huallaga River drainage. This distinctive form is characterized by bold orange to yellow-orange bands across a dark body, often with contrasting dark markings on the limbs. The banded pattern is a remarkable example of Müllerian mimicry, closely resembling the sympatric dart frog Ranitomeya summersi. Banded imitators are active, inquisitive frogs that make excellent displays in densely planted vivaria. Males produce a pleasant, musical trilling call that is noticeable but not overwhelming. Like other R. imitator, they are best maintained in breeding pairs, although carefully monitored groups may succeed in larger, well-structured enclosures. They exhibit strong biparental care, with males transporting tadpoles to small water-holding sites and females provisioning them with unfertilized trophic eggs. Tadpoles can often be raised by their parents in a mature vivarium with suitable deposition sites or removed and raised individually. This form does well in vivaria with abundant leaf litter, bromeliads, broad-leaved plants, film canisters, and plenty of visual cover. They readily accept Drosophila melanogaster fruit flies and springtails, particularly when young. Captive-bred animals from Holotypica are raised with care and offered only once they are feeding well and established.
