bright colors of P. bicolor may serve a purpose for sexual selection. A brightly colored male, in addition to his call, will attract a female better than a dully colored male would. As coloration increases is vibrancy, the fitness of the organism increases, so the individual can survive better and be selected for reproduction. Coloration in P. bicolor can serve these two purposes at once. P. bicolor are smaller, more slender, and less poisonous than their close relative, Phyllobates terribilis. P. bicolor can also resemble juvenile or subadult P. terribilis frogs. Oftentimes, these two organisms are confused for each other when scientists conduct population surveys. P. bicolor also bears a resemblance to D. leucomelas, particularly the "netted" color morph of D. leucomelas. Similar to other amphibians, P. bicolor experiences ontogenetic changes throughout its stages of life from the time they are tadpoles to mature adults. After emerging from tadpoles, the juveniles frogs are brown or black in color and slowly become more vibrant as they mature. Species Phyllobates frogs follow an interesting pattern of phenotypic distribution. Across the western South American coast, the frogs exhibit a leapfrog distribution pattern. A leapfrog pattern describes a set of phenotypically similar populations that have been separated by at least one phenotypically unrelated population. P. bicolor, only one of the five species of frog found between Nicaragua and Colombia, are geographically isolated from other species of frog with the exception of P. terribilis. Due to the presence of the Western Andes Mountains and the San Juan river basin, long distance gene flow in-between populations is virtually impossible. This leapfrogging pattern is strong evidence of independent evolution and divergence from a common ancestor. Due to the geographic isolation and lack of long distance gene flow, each population of frog has genetically diverged and gained unique phenotypes from the other populations. This pattern of phenotypic distribution is helpful when looking at the phylogeny of the species when uncovering other mysteries surrounding the species such as the gene that prevents the frog from poisoning itself with its own toxin. Toxicity Batrachotoxin While its toxicity is weaker than P. terribilis, P. bicolor is still a highly toxic animal, one of the few frogs confirmed to have caused human fatalities. In their natural habitat, P. bicolor excretes toxins from pores in its skin. The frogs cannot naturally produce the toxin, so they derive the nutrients necessary from their diet