Poison Dart Frog

Summer Parker
Anatomy/Physiology
8/19/11

The poison dart frog is the common name of a group of frogs in the family Dendrobatidae which are native to Central and South America. Unlike most frogs, these species are active during the day and often have brightly-colored bodies. Their coloring can be yellow, gold, red, green, or blue. Their bright colors displaying aposematic patterns are to warn potential predators. Their bright coloration is associated with their toxin levels. The levels of toxin vary considerably from one species to the next and from one population to another. Poison dart frogs are endangered. These amphibians are called "dart frogs due to the Amerindians' indigenous use of their toxic secretions to poison the tips of blow darts. Poison dart frogs are small, sometimes less than 1.5cm in adult length, although a few grow up to 6cm in length. They weigh about 2 grams, depending on the size of the frog.
When born and raised in captivity, poison frogs do not produce the skin toxins which lead to possible medicinal treatments and therapies for humans. Since the toxins abundant in poison dart frogs affect nerves and heart muscles, the medicinal treatments could affect these pathways in the body. Scientists have revealed that batrachotoxin is not an immediate blocker of the nervous system and actually makes the heart muscle contractions stronger initially while the they retain in their native habitat. From tiny pores in their skin, the frog secretes a defensive
toxin that makes it unbearable to predators and which could easily kill if injected into a human or other animal. Despite the toxins used by some poison dart frogs, there are some predators that have developed the ability to withstand them, including the Amazon ground snake called Liophis epinephelus. Scientists are unsure of the source of poison dart frogs' toxicity. Although they eat get their poison from plant poisons which are carried by their prey, including ants, termites and beetles. The medical research community has been exploring possible medicinal uses for some poison dart frog venom. They have already developed a synthetic version of one compound that shows promise as a painkiller.
The toxins in the poison dart frog can be classified as neurotoxins, or nerve poisons. Sometimes the skin toxins affect the victim in different ways, just local irritation can occur but other extreme effects are hallucinations and vasoconstriction which can result in increased blood pressure. The toxin that comes from the dart frogs does not affect themselves because the toxin of these frogs is not produced in the frog itself but rather derived from the food that they eat. Not all poison dart frogs are extremely toxic. A positive impact these little frogs have is that they can pumiliotoxin in Dendrobates could be a cardiac stimulant post heart attack. From this knowledge, they might be able to positively utilize the toxin.
Most frog species are nocturnal, but poison frogs are active during the day, when their jewel-colored bodies can best be seen and avoided. The frogs are very social and often stay in pairs or small groups. Males wrestle over territories, females tussle over the best egg-laying sites, and courting pairs nudge and caress one another with their chins and forearms. Poison dart frogs cannot kill each other from their poison because the frogs poison is the same. They have the same diet and so they can not affect each other. The poison dart frog can resist and store toxins that kill everything else. Evolution would tell us that the poison dart frog became immune when they began to depend on ants as their main food source.
Although these frogs are endangered they have a very important role in the rainforest. They kill a lot of the insects and bugs to keep their populations under control. All in all the poison dart frog is very unique. The most unique thing is that it can resist the toxin from the animals they eat and then take that toxin and store it so they can use it to their benefit. It really is a beautiful animal.