[4] Anthony's poison arrow frog is known only from a number of locations in southwestern Ecuador and northwestern Peru at heights of between 153 and 1,769 m (502 and 5,804 ft) above sea level.

A clutch of 15 to 40 eggs is laid on the ground among leaf litter, and the male guards them till they hatch in about two weeks.

He then carries the tadpoles on his back to a suitable water body where they develop (through metamorphosis) into frogs in about sixty days.

Once investigated for possible use as an analgesic agent, the alkaloid proved far too toxic for any application in human medicine and is presently used exclusively for research purposes.

Its population seems stable but it has a limited range, estimated to be less than 20,000 square kilometres (7,700 sq mi), and its habitat is being degraded by pollution from agrochemicals.