Poison Dart Frogs

Poison Dart Frogs

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1. Vibrant but toxic, poison dart frogs range from less than an inch to two and a half inches in body length.

2. There are more than 175 species of poison dart frogs, varying in color and pattern. The black and green species has black spots, the strawberry or blue jeans frog is all red with blue legs, the yellow-banded species appears painted with yellow and black. Color shades vary among frogs within a species. 

3. It is the skin that contains the frog's poison.

4. . These beautiful colors are warnings to potential predators that the frogs are poisonous. Other species, such as monarch butterflies, sport bright colors to advertise their toxicity. Several species of nonpoisonous frogs evolved with similar coloring to avoid being eaten. Some scientists think that the reticulated pattern of the frogs also acts as camouflage among the forest shadows.

5.  Poison dart frogs feed mostly on spiders and small insects such as ants and termites, which they find on the forest floor using their excellent vision. They capture their prey by using their long sticky tongues.

6. Poison dart frogs live in tropical rainforests.

7. They are small frogs (most are no bigger than a paper clip). 

8. They have a good vision used to help capture prey. Their long, sticky tongue darts out and captures their prey once spoted. 

9. Each foot contains four toes which each have a flattened tip with a suction cup pad which is used for gripping and clinging to vegetation in its habitat. They lack webbing and are poor swimmers and are found near water but not in it.

10. The only natural predator of most of the poison dart frog family is a snake called Leimadophis epinephelus, which has developed a resistance to the frogs' poison. It is believed that the snakes detoxify the frog’s poison with a substance contained in the saliva.

11. Poison dart frogs live near the ground or in trees.

12. Poison dart frogs, also called poison arrow frogs, are so named because some Amerindian tribes have used their secretions to poison their darts.

13. Not all arrow frogs are deadly, and only three species are very dangerous to humans.

14. Arrow frogs are not poisonous in captivity. Scientists believe that these frogs gain their poison from a specific arthropod and other insects that they eat in the wild.

15. There are more than 175 different species of poison dart frog known to be inhabiting the jungles across Central and South America.

16. Poison dart frogs live on the ground or in the foliage just above it.