This bright color pattern is known as an aposematic coloration and warns against predators. Oophaga lehmanni is poisonous in the wild but in captivity it does not consume the food it needs to become toxic. This species is most similar to Oophaga histrionicus but lacks the histrionicotoxins which are present in O. histrionicus (Walls 1994).
 
Named for the late Federico Carlos Lehmann Valencia, a Colombian conservation biologist and ornithologist. Founder of Museo de Ciencias Naturales in Santa Teresita de Cali, Colombia in 1963 (F. Carlos Lehmann Valencia website 2001; Dendrobatidae Nederland website). In 2011, the genus Dendrobates was subdivided into seven genera, including the new genus Oophaga by Brown et al (2011).

Oophaga lehmanni, or Lehmann's poison frog is restricted to the Anchicaya Valley near Dagua, Colombia in South America (Edobermeyer 1999).

Biogeographic Regions: neotropical (Native )

Lehmann's poison frog is one of the larger dendrobatids at 31 to 36 mm (Edobermeyer 1999). There are three color morphs of O. lehmanni; red, orange, and yellow against a black or bark brown background (Mzoo 1999). The frog is mainly dark colored and is encircled by two brightly colored bands. One band is behind the head and the other is around the hump of the back. The brightly colored patterns are broken up irregularly by the dark. The arms and legs are also circled by the bright colors (Edobermeyer 1999). The bright color pattern that these frogs have developed is called an aposematic coloration. It is supposed to warn possible predators that they are very poisonous. The skin of O. lehmanni is smooth and the first digit is a little shorter then the second (Edobermeyer 1999).

• Terrestrial

Oophaga lehmanni is found in the rain forests of Columbia. These frog are usually found on the ground but can sometimes be found in low bushes and trees (Edobermeyer 1999).

Terrestrial Biomes: rainforest

Oophaga lehmanni is an insectivore (Vazquez 1997). As tadpoles the frogs are fed unfertilized eggs by the parents. The young can also be cannibalistic (David 1999).

The mating season for Lehmann's poison frog begins after the wet season. The males find a good place to store the eggs and then attract the female through a series of elaborate calls. When a female finds a male she deposits a few large eggs on leaves that are about 1.2 m above the forest floor in the area that he has selected. The male picks an area that is near water to insure that the eggs stay wet. After the eggs are laid the male will fertilize, protect, and keep them wet. In about 2 to 4 weeks the male will carry the tadpoles to water via sticky mucous on his back. The male will usually take each tadpole to a different site because they can be cannibalistic. The bodies of water that the tadpoles develop in are often in branches, hollow trees, and bamboo stalks. The tadpoles develop into frogs in about 2 to 3 months (David 1999).

Oophaga lehmanni is a protected species (Vazquez 1997). They are being exported from their home land for use in the pet trade. This species is listed as critically endangered by the IUCN and is in CITES Appendix II.

US Federal List: no special status

CITES: appendix ii

IUCN Red List of Threatened Species: critically endangered

Oophaga lehmanni can breed successfully with Oophaga histrionicus in captivity. Other than its lack of histrionicotoxins, O. lehmanni does not vary from O. histrionicus and so its status as a distinct species has often been questioned (Walls 1994).

In a study of frog advertisement calls, it was suggested that there are two groups of dendrobatid frogs: northern populations with relatively long notes (125 ms) and a low note repetition rate (2-3.5/s) and southern populations (including D. lehmanni) with distinctively shorter notes (100 ms) and a higher note repetition rate of at least 5/s). The authors stress that more investigation is needed. (Lotters et al. 1999).

The toxic skin secretions of D.lehmanni are being studied for medicinal purposes.