sylvaticaand O. vicentei * (sensu F ROST , 2007). The demarcation to the other genera was based onsynapomorph he genetic, morphological

The and ethologically he features. The genetically monophyletic Klade can be distinguished from all other genera by other features. Morphologically mainly due to some larval characteristics like the enlarged mouth, the strongly pronounced hornbill and enlarged Marginalpapillen (an oophagy custom mouth field). Ethically the genus is characterized by the common Chirp reputation (chirp-call) and female nurses with specialized egg feeding (obligatorye oophagia). G RANT ET AL . (2006) suggest some additional features which, however, are not always clear and even partial plesiomorphice characteristics of the subfamily Dendrobatinae. Many of the G RANT ET AL. S ILVERSTONE (1975) and M YERS & D ALY (1984) were used to delineate the representatives of the genus Oophaga(sensu G RANT ET AL .) from other representatives of the genus Dendrobates . This delimitation has so far been expressed in the division of the genus Dendrobates into subgroups (Histrionicus and Pumilio group sensu S ILVERSTONE , 1975 and Histrionicus group sensu M YERS & D ALY, 1984). The delineation criteria are therefore not fundamentally new. The splitting of the genus is thus only a more consistent interpretation of well-known criteria, which also adds a stronger weighting to the genetic data.

The genus Oophaga is a typical Westandine or Central American faunal element. The representatives of the genus are found only in Central America and in northwestern South America west of the Andean chain (western Colombia and northwest Ecuador). The spreading area coincides precisely with the spreading area of ​​the genus Phyllobates (M YERS & D ALY , 1983). Both genera even show the same distribution gap in eastern Panama. Evidently, both genes have the same biogeographical distribution history. The genus probably originated after the unfolding of the Andes about 10 million years ago in the north-west of South America (S ILVERSTONE, 1975). From here immigration to the newly formed Central American land bridge took place about 3.5 million years ago (S AVAGE , 2002). Two relatively early inflected lines of Oophaga and Phyllobates were thought to be on the Pacific side throughout the earth's historyglaciale and  interglaciae Climate change is island-like. The species Oophaga granulifera has presumably emerged from this early line and is today the most original representative of the genus Oophaga . It shows only a distant kinship with both Colombian and Central American species. Today are the species O. granulifera and Phyllobates vittatusin Central America in the territory of the Osa Peninsula, are separated from all other representatives of their genera climatically by dry forest areas in the north-west and southeast and the high mountain chain to the north. From this, for example, the species O. pumilio and O. arborea emerged, which according to H AGEMANN (2005) are more closely related to the Colombian O. histrionica .