<p>Biodiversity conservation strategies often emphasize areas with high taxonomic diversity and those species that possess charisma and commercial value. This is concerning given that such approach does not imply the protection of species ecological roles and evolutionary diversity. This study seeks to highlight modern approaches to optimize comprehensive biodiversity conservation based on Evolutionary Distinctiveness (ED), Biogeographically weighted Evolutionary Distinctiveness (BED), and the application of the EDGE (Evolutionarily Distinct and Globally Endangered) initiative. For this, we use as a model system the poison frogs of Dendrobatidae because in this family there are species with bright and striking coloration, and species with cryptic coloration, which have been linked to opposite trends in trafficking, conservation and research efforts biased towards the former species. However, despite facing lower pet trade pressure, cryptic species may possess unique functional and evolutionary traits that contribute to ecosystem dynamics and biodiversity, highlighting the need to consider them in conservation efforts. Analyses of 10,000 phylogenetic trees across Dendrobatid species were conducted to calculate their ED, BED and EDGE scores. Since conservation initiatives can be taken at several levels or scales, we calculated scores at regional level (i.e., a pool of countries with presence of Dendrobatidae), but also at country level (e.g., Colombia, Ecuador). Our analysis indicates that less striking colored and charismatic dendrobatids have the highest values of ED, BED and EDGE scores. Contrary to traditional tendencies, cryptic dendrobatids should be a priority for research and conservation efforts. The species and geographical areas with the highest priority can change among countries and depending on whether conservation decisions are made at the regional or country level. These findings underscore the need to diversify conservation efforts, without accounting only for visually iconic species.</p>