Ranitomeya is a genus of dart poison frogs found in Panama and South America south to Peru and Brazil, possibly into Bolivia.
In 2006 Grant et al. revised the systematics of poison dart frogs and placed many species formerly classified in the genera Dendrobates, Minyobates and Phyllobates in Ranitomeya. In 2011 Brown and colleagues, following other scientists who assumed the existence of two distinct clades in Ranitomeya, erected the genus Andinobates for 12 species of Ranitomeya.
Ranitomeya and Andinobates frogs can be distinguished from those in genera such as Dendrobates in that they are generally smaller, have more than two colors, and seem to glitter if viewed from certain angles. Ranitomeya is widespread in the Amazon basin, whereas Andinobates species are found only in the northern Andes down to Central America.
Adults measure no more than in snoutâÂÂvent length and are typically brightly colored, often with bright yellow, red, or green dorsum that can be uniform in color or with stripes or dots. Also the throat has distinctive color, usually yellow, orange or red. Dorsal skin is smooth or weakly granular. The head is narrower than the body. Fingers and toes bear discs, with those on the fingers being large. Some species in the genus, such as R. variabilis, exhibit tadpole transport and cannibalistic behavior.
Many Ranitomeya species are threatened by habitat loss and collection for the pet trade.
There are currently 18 accepted species in the genus Ranitomeya:
Dendrobates rubrocephalus <small>Schulte, 1999</small> is placed here incertae sedis.
In 2025, a team of researchers published the description of two new Ranitomeya species, R. aquamarina and R. aetherea, representing the first species named in the genus in more than ten years. The publications describing these species were accompanied by a molecular phylogenetic analysis including all members of the genus named to that point. These results are displayed in the cladogram below, with species groups noted.