 |
|
|
|
|
|
Species ProfilesDeadly Dendrobates: Poison-Dart Frogs
Tropical forests are home to a variety of brightly colored creatures. Brightly colored skin, feathers or scales can often signify danger to predators. One of the most fascinating of these animals is the tiny but deadly poison-dart frog. The species Dendrobates, Epibpedobates, and Phyllobates are all commonly known as poison-dart frogs. Averaging one-and-a-half inches in size, they can be green, red, orange, yellow, blue, or black, or any combination of these colors in a wide variety of patterns. They appear like glittering jewels on the forest floor as they hunt through leaf litter for ants, small insects, and arthropods. Unlike most other frogs, they are diurnal, meaning that they are active during the day, instead of night. Poison-dart frogs are native to rivers and streams from Nicaragua to Bolivia, the Guianas, and southeastern Brazil. Their skin glands contain toxins that are bitter-tasting alkaloids, making them an unlikely meal for most animals. At least 3 species, Phyllobates terribilis, Phyllobates aurotaenia, and Phyllobates bicolor contain poisons so toxic that they are life threatening even to humans. Ingesting these toxins can cause convulsions, paralysis, and eventually death once they enter the bloodstream of an animal.
The Chocó indigenous people of Colombia use the poisons for hunting by tipping the end of their blowgun darts with toxins extracted from the frog's skin. One frog produces enough toxins to coat 50 to 100 darts. Poison-dart frogs do have one known predator, the snake Leimadophis epinephelus, which is immune to their poisons. Even more threatening to the livelihood of the frogs is deforestation. The Rainforest Alliance works to protect the habitats of creatures large and small and the cultural practices of indigenous people around the world.
Back to Species Profiles Table of Contents
|
