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Pandora's Box  |  Animal Kingdom


Red-And-Blue Poison-Arrow Frog



The red-and-blue poison-arrow frog's jewel-like color stands out from the rich
rainforest vegetation as a warning that it is one of the most poisonous animals on earth.


For centuries, the poison-arrow frog has provided South American Indians
with poison for the tips of arrows and blowpipe darts.  For predators,
swallowing a frog means certain death, and even licking one can prove fatal.


 



The newly hatched young attach
themselves to the female's moist back.
 

HABITS

Like all amphibians, poison-arrow frogs must stay moist to survive.  The red-and-blue species lives in Costa Rican rainforests.  The constantly steamy, wet environment reduces the frog's need for streams and pools.

It forages through the rain-soaked leaves and vegetation for small insects such as ants and spiders.  The poison-arrow frog moves in short hops and rarely stays still.  Adhesive pads on its toes allow it to climb agilely to search for prey.





Its vocal sac fully extended, a poison-arrow
frog croaks a territorial claim.
 

POISON-ARROW FROG & MAN

The Choco Indians of western Colombia developed the technique of using this frog to poison the tips of arrows or blowpipe darts.

The Choco use poison from three species. With the deadliest frogs, the tribesmen pin a frog to the ground with a stick and wipe their arrowheads on its skin.  Less poisonous species are warmed over fires on skewers to make them excrete large quantities of poison, which is concentrated for use.

Today the Choco use poison darts or arrows for hunting small game, but in the past they were used in wars with other tribes in the forest.

 

BREEDING

Many frogs lay large quantities of eggs in water and leave them alone.  Fish eat the newly hatched tadpoles, and few survive to develop into adult frogs.  The poison-arrow frog breeds in a different way that ensures the tadpoles' survival.

After a courtship ritual of calling, chasing and wrestling, the female lays four to six eggs. The male then fertilizes the eggs.

The newly hatched tadpoles climb onto the female's back, and she carries them to the water.  Sticky mucus holds the tadpoles on tight and keeps them moist during the several-hour journey.

Instead of a pond or stream, the red-and-blue mother places her tadpoles in tiny condensation pools in the centers of tropical plants.

The female puts one tadpole in each plant, feeding them each week by placing unfertilized eggs in the pools.  Fed on this nutritious food, the tadpoles grow into adulthood.





Males wrestle for mates;
their poison is for predators.

 

DEFENSES

Some frogs protect themselves from larger predators such as snakes and hawks by secreting mild poisons from the skin to make themselves taste foul.

The poison-arrow also uses this tactic, but its skin gland secretions are lethal.  A predator faces certain death if it swallows a poison-arrow frog, and even licking one can often prove fatal.

These frog poisons are the most powerful animal poisons known.  As little as two micrograms of its poison can kill an adult human − and each frog contains nearly 200 micrograms.

Because the poison-arrow frog is too small to be seen by some animals, its brightly colored skin makes it more noticeable and acts as a warning to predators that the frog is deadly prey.  Consequently, fewer frogs are eaten during the day, when predators can recognize them as dangerous.

 

DID YOU KNOW?

  Only one natural predator may hunt the poison-arrow frog: the snake Leimadophis epinephelus seems to be immune to the toxins.

  This family includes some of the smallest frogs in the world: Dendrobates minutus grows to only a half inch.

  Scientists discover new species of poison-arrow continually in their tropical forest explorations.  Still, their habitat may be destroyed before scientists can account for them.


 



 

 

Group:    Amphibians
Order:    Anura
Family:   Dendrobatidae
Genus & Species:  Dendrobates pumilio



 

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