Amazing nature #58 - Poison Dart Frogs
Today I bring you a little about a surprising animal, very small and agile that has a deadly power because it has some of the most lethal poisons in the world, this means it has no predators and does not need to camouflage, I present to you the fabulous Poison Dart Frog.
Due to its striking colors, are a natural alert for any living being, has the undisputed title of the most toxic animal on the planet, know a little more about this wonderful amphibian.
It is not the only dart frog, is actually formed by about 200 different species, all poisonous, although some are more poisonous than others, also varies in size by species and age of the specimen, these amphibians achieve a size between half a centimeter and 3 millimeters.
Its diurnal habits allow it to hunt a great variety of insects, other similar amphibians must be camouflaged, but the dart frog does not need these devices thanks to its high toxicity.
They are very eye-catching for their bright colors, this keeps very alert to other animals for their high danger if they came to have contact would be very unfortunate, so lethal that only by rubbing their skin a human could die.
Numerous studies that, the more vivid colors and color patterns, the more poison they possess, the most dangerous of all is the golden frog, of which there are combinations such as yellow, blue, red and brown. They can be plain colored, with darker colored spots and even striped.
Small arthropods, such as cockroaches, ants, termites, mites, are the main diet, although each species has different habits and tastes for some of the named insects, therefore, the larger frogs eat larger insects, while the smaller ones will eat mites.
They can only process poison through their diet, since they cannot synthesize it by themselves, thanks to the toxins they extract from the arthropods they can accumulate the necessary toxins in their skin, and as is to be expected these toxins converted into poison do not harm them, they use them for their prey, which if they are able to assimilate their poison in a toxic way.
They are so dependent on the arthropod diet that if they are raised in captivity, and their natural diet is changed, they are able to stop storing toxins and therefore stop being poisonous, all this in just a few weeks.
They live mainly in Central and South America. From Nicaragua to Bolivia, covering all perimeter countries.
The preferred areas are forests with lush vegetation and high humidity, as well as high and constant temperatures, which can also be found at 3000 meters above sea level.
An aboriginal myth indicates that its name comes from the belief that the tribes of the forests and tropical rainforests used frogs to poison the tip of arrows or darts, there are 4 species that make up the great family of 200 varieties, and the aborigines for their part actually use poisonous plants for this work.
Due to its high level of toxicity, and the little human interaction in the deep jungle, it is thought that the dart frog is not in danger of extinction, although a large number of them are hunted to be commercialized as a species.
They are endemic to the humid ecosystems of Central and South America. They are difficult to find in the wild, but if you do, don't touch them.
Thank you for reading
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I have read about what the most poisonous fish or the most poisonous tree and even the most poisonous bird. But these frogs seems to be most poisonous on the planet.
exactly! =)
wao, que bellas son, no sabía que existían de tantos colores, parece que un artista las hubiese pintado.
son maravillosas, me encantaría verlas de verdad