Summers' Poison Dart Frog

Ranitomeya summersi is one of the smallest species of poison dart frogs, commonly known as "thumbnail" darts. It has an orange and black banded pattern and a large snout to vent length. Males and females exhibit no sexual dimorphism in snout to vent length, exhibiting a range from 15.5 mm to 20.4 mm. This species possesses a black marking over the eyes extending past the tympanum giving them the appearance of a mask. The species is a Batesian mimicry of Ranitomeya Variabilis. While Ranitomeya imitator can copy the appearance of R. summersi, R. summersi can be distinguished from the imitator by its soft buzz call which can only be heard less than 1 m away, and its dark mask which covers the tympanum. In contrast the Ranitomeya imitator calls are much louder and can be heard from 5 m away.

This diurnal frog is primarily terrestrial. It inhabits dry primary and secondary submontane forest. It has been observed between 180 and 700 meters above sea level.

The female frog lays eggs in leaf litter in clutches of 6–9. After the eggs hatch, the male frog carries them to pools of water inside holes in trees or in the axils of the plant Dieffenbachia.