Hello, this is wild suzhou.
Today, we will be talking about poison dart frogs, a group of brightly colored yet dangerous little frogs found in Central and South America.
Poison dart frogs are relatively small, when you compare them to other species of frogs. Most of them have very bright coloring, which is to warn predators that they are toxic. This is known as aposematism, which means using signals, such as bright coloring or bad smells, to warn predators that a prey is not worth trying to eat. The aposematism displayed in poison dart frogs varies a lot, and different species can look vastly different from one another. For example, the golden dart frog is almost 100% yellow, which can range from lighter yellows to almost orange. However, another species, the dyeing poison dart frog, is jet black, with a thick yellow stripe going from the nose to the back, and very light green spots on the legs.
Though many species of poison dart frog possess aposematic coloring, not all of them are actually so dangerous. Some species of poison dart frogs aren’t actually poisonous, and are just tricking predators into thinking that they are.
The toxin that poison dart frogs have probably comes from the insects that they eat, such as ants and termites. It’s thought that these insects eat plants that contain certain toxins or chemicals, and since the frogs eat the insects, the chemicals are stored in their bodies. People have also noticed that poison dart frogs that are kept as pets or in zoos are not as toxic, since they don’t feed on the insects they normally would.
Poison dart frogs got their name from because of Native Americans, who would sometimes use the poison from a dart frog to put on the tip of a blowdart, effectively making a toxic and more dangerous dart.
For Wild Suzhou, I’m Ciana, thanks for listening and see you next time.