Their feet are not webbed, but they have a strong grip due to a well-developed suction cup pad. The females have slightly larger body and round toe tips. The males can be recognized by their larger, heart-shaped toe tips and hunch-back pose. Fact #4: Male blue poison dart frogs have heart-shaped toe tips and a hunch backīlue poison dart frogs have four toes on their front feet and five on their back ones. In a recent study, scientists suggest that the blue-black color pattern serves one more purpose - it is a camouflage that allows the frog to blend-in with its surrounding.
Scientists state that, due to the poison, these frogs taste unpalatable or even repugnant. The blue color signals danger to certain predators, and those who still dare to attack are not awarded with a treat.
RAINBOW POISON DART FROG SKIN
The blue skin is this little frog’s best defense mechanism - covered in glands that secrete strong poisons, it can paralyze or kill predators. This signaling includes a display of a vibrantly-colored body, as well as sending out certain warning sounds. Fact #3: The blue dart poison frog has a repugnant tasteīlue poison dart frogs send a strong aposematic signals to ward off predators and territory intruders. It is smooth, except for the thighs, where it is usually granular. The skin around the stomach and the legs is usually in a darker shade of blue. Interestingly, the skin patterns are unique to each frog - no two frogs look exactly the same. Fact #2: No two blue dart poison frogs are identical The black spots are arranged irregularly along their back and head. Their beauty is sometimes compared to that of a sapphire. The bright blue skin, covered in patterns of black specks and patches, is their trademark of these dangerous little frogs. This small tropical amphibian reaches a length of approximately 3 to 5 cm, and typically weighs 3 to 8 grams. The blue poison dart frog is one of the most beautiful but dangerous animals in the world.
RAINBOW POISON DART FROG DOWNLOAD
In the wild, many of the frog species are disappearing because their forest home is being destroyed.Īfter their tadpoles hatch in the leaflitter, one of the parents will carry them to water on their back?Ĭlick here to download the poison frog factsheet.Scientific name: Dendrobates tinctorius “azureus”Īlso known as: Blue poison arrow frog, Okapipi or Okopipi (native Tirio Indian name) Fact #1: This beautiful, azure tropical frog is quite small Living in the forests, these frogs spend more time on the ground and in the trees than they do in the water, so they have wide, flattened toes to help them grip instead of webbed feet. The golden poison frog is the most toxic land animal in the world? They are diurnal which means they feed during the day and sleep at night. Poison frogs hunt various small invertebrates to feed on, including flies, ants, beetles, spiders, mites, caterpillars and maggots. Native Indians use the toxin from certain frogs’ on theirs when hunting? Some toxins are more powerful than others. The frogs produce the distasteful secretions to try and deter predators from eating them. There are more than 250 species of poison frogs living in the forests of South and Central America.