phylogenetic relationship for this species has been modified a couple of times, with most hypothetical models suggesting its closest relatives to be O. pumilio, O. arborea, O. speciosa, and O. granulifera. While sometimes the Oophaga sylvatica species is considered to be a complex species due to its high levels of morphological variation, genetic studies suggest different populations of Oophaga sylvatica are in fact only a single species. In populations in northwestern Ecuador, O. sylvatica was found to follow two main genetic lineages, separated by the Santiago River into northern and southern groups. The northern groups consist of San Antonio, Lita, Alto Tambo, Durango, and Otokiki. These populations were distributed within a fairly close proximity to each other and those with overlapping regions often displayed a mix of the two population phenotypes. The southern populations consist of Felfa, Cristóbal Colón, Simón Bolívar, Quingüe, Cube, Puerto Quito, Santo Domingo, and La Maná. Located geographically in between the northern and southern populations in the Mache-Chindul protected area is the Mediana population. Compared to the northern populations, the southern populations were found to be geographically distant. Both groups had significantly variable color diversity. Genetics Similar to their geographical distribution, the northern and southern populations are separated into two distinct mitochondrial clades, then further categorized into three genetic clusters: northern, southeast, and southwest. As the northern populations are closer to each other geographically, their genetic diversity is more homogeneous in comparison to the southern populations. Within-clade variation is greater than between-clades, which can be attributed to a variety of causes, including gene flow, recent separation of populations, and the number and class of genetic markers used for study. Different O. sylvatica populations have all held relatively stable population numbers over time. Northern and southern populations likely diverged about 1.2 MYA, around the time of the Günz glaciation, which occurred roughly 1.1 MYA. Afterwards, population expansion occurred starting around the late Pleistocene which also marks the beginning of the current interglacial period, during which the northern and southern populations likely hybridized, leading to the formation of the Mediana population. Habitat and distribution O. sylvatica is natively distributed in regions of Southwestern Colombia and Northwestern Ecuador and has been reported in the provinces of Esmeraldas, Pichincha, Imbabura, Cotopaxi, Manabi, Santo Domingo de los Tsachilas, and Los Rios. It inhabits humid tropical forests in mostly lowland and sub montane rainforest. These species are found in a variety of