Most people are familiar with South and Central America’s iconic poison dart frogs, especially the golden poison frog (Phyllobates terribilis), that carry the potent neurotoxic alkaloid batrachotoxin. The discovery of two new poisonous bird species in New Guinea — which carry the same toxin in their skin and feathers — demonstrates that batrachotoxin is more […]
Tag: poison dart frog
Indigenous community saves Colombia’s poison dart frog from coca and logging
One of the most poisonous animals on earth, the golden dart frog carries enough toxins in its body to kill 10 people. If it enters the blood stream, the toxin paralyzes the nervous system and, in only a few minutes, stops the heart from beating. The golden dart frog (Phyllobates terribilis) is found only in […]
Now We Know Why Poison Frogs Don’t Poison Themselves
Deep in the forests of South America live poison dart frogs that carry around a toxin 200 times more potent than morphine. While it packs a fatal punch for predators, the poison doesn’t much affect the frogs. How? Their nervous systems have changed over time to fight off the powerful chemicals—an extraordinary example of evolution […]
Video: The golden poison dart frog: ‘Like holding a loaded gun’
Lucy Cooke, the ‘amphibian avenger’, really loves frogs. She travels to a remote region of Colombia’s wild west to look for one of the world’s most toxic animals: Phyllobates terribilis, the golden poison frog. Protecting it from extinction isn’t an easy job – it lives among gold mines, drug runners, guerrillas and local people sceptical […]
Biggest new animal discoveries of 2013 (photos)
Thousands of species were scientifically described for the first time in 2013. Many of these were ‘cryptic species’ that were identified after genetic analysis distinguished them from closely-related species, while others were totally novel. Below are some of the most interesting “new species” discoveries that took place or were formally announced in 2013. The last […]
New poison dart frog discovered in ‘Lost World’
Scientists have described a new species of poison dart frog after discovering it during a study to determine the impact of tourism on biodiversity in a tract of rainforest known as “The Lost World” in Guyana. The scientists named the frog Allobates amissibilis — in Latin, “that may be lost” — in recognition of its […]