Poison dart frog

Poison dart frog (also known as dart-poison frog, poison frog or formerly known as poison arrow frog) is the <a href="/facts/Common_name/3KNNezEU">common name</a> of a group of <a href="/facts/Frog/IxYhbeda">frogs</a> in the <a href="/facts/Family_(biology)/qTrn6E8E">family</a> Dendrobatidae which are native to tropical <a href="/facts/Central_America/CXKgTuxC">Central</a> and <a href="/facts/South_America/PhrFEMk7">South America</a>. These species are <a href="/facts/Diurnality/GgXnXvN7">diurnal</a> and often have brightly colored bodies. This bright coloration is correlated with the <a href="/facts/Toxicity/qa96rs60">toxicity</a> of the species, making them <a href="/facts/Aposematism/Npct7Xz1">aposematic</a>. Some species of the family Dendrobatidae exhibit extremely bright coloration along with high toxicity — a feature derived from their diet of ants, mites and termites— while species which eat a much larger variety of prey have <a href="/facts/Crypsis/f1fBxAsy">cryptic</a> coloration with minimal to no amount of observed toxicity. Many species of this family are <a href="/facts/Threatened_species/kryGsxNb">threatened</a> due to human infrastructure encroaching on their habitats.
These amphibians are often called "dart frogs" due to the <a href="/facts/Indigenous_peoples_of_the_Americas/LG2r6wXm">aboriginal South Americans</a>' use of their toxic secretions to poison the tips of <a href="/facts/Blowdart/vjWR0mJ3">blowdarts</a>. However, out of over 170 species, only four have been documented as being used for this purpose (<a href="/facts/Curare/3mvD3WQ9">curare</a> plants are more commonly used for aboriginal South American darts) all of which come from the genus <a href="/facts/Phyllobates/pxUY2flv">Phyllobates</a>, which is characterized by the relatively large size and high levels of toxicity of its members.

Poison dart frog open-in-new

Poison dart frog