and yellows, and are sometimes mistaken or imported into the international marketplace as Mantella cowanii. Moreover, the "front limbs and femurs are yellow to greenish in appearance, with this coloration continuing up the flanks into a large, rounded flank blotch", which mirrors the commonplace appearance of the species Mantella madagascariensis, known as the painted mantella. These blotches "contrast with the black dorsum and striking orange and black legs" in both species, making it difficult for distributors, vendors, herpetologists, breeders, collectors, and pet owners to acquire the correct species. The easiest way to differentiate the two species is to note the "sky-blue, horseshoe-shaped marking" present on the throat of the painted mantella, as well as the lack of "flashmarks on the lower hindlimbs" on the Baron's mantella. Due to their similar appearance, the Baron's mantella is sometimes informally called a "painted mantella" as well, despite the painted mantella being a distinct species altogether. As seen in the pictures above, M. baroni demonstrates strong aposomatic features on their front limbs, hind limbs, and rostral line. Similar aposomatic features – such as bright colorations, striking color differentials, and otherwise unconventional patterning – are common to all 16 species of Mantella, to varying levels of veracity (some species of Mantella have weaker toxicity and primarily use bright colors as a form of mimicry). Despite resembling the similarly-small poison dart frogs of Latin America, which also communicate their toxicity to potential predators through aposematism, Mantella species like the Baron's mantella are only distant taxonomic relatives. The existence of these similarities between these two families is an example of convergent evolution. Activity and reproduction Male M. baroni emit "intense sequences of short, single-click notes during the day" in order to assert their territory or attract females for mating. Females can lay up to 130 unpigmented eggs in a single clutch, and almost always do so near a source of water, into which the resulting tadpoles get washed by rainwater. Diet, predation, and toxicology Mantella baroni is a very active forager and can consume a greater number of prey (consisting of large arthropods) than any other Mantella species, consisting of large arthropods. While most frog species are nocturnal, the Mantella baroni is a diurnal hunter. Its diet consists mainly of ants, while also consuming a number of other types of arthropods like beetles, spiders, and mites. Ingesting mites allows them to secrete high pharmacologically-active alkaloid concentrations in