The Brightly Colored, Potentially Lethal Blue Poison Dart Frog
Reportedly not officially discovered until 1968, the blue poison dart frog is a tiny but very powerful frog in that it can release harmful toxins directly through its skin. The toxin is not only distasteful to predators, but can be potentially lethal. The poison dart frog gets its name from the fact that its toxin was sometimes used by Central and South American Indians on the tip of poison blow darts.
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Found mainly on a few isolated rain forests in South or Central America, the blue poison dart frog is highly active during the day. When at rest, they can be found in amongst the rocks and boulders by streams. Although interestingly enough, you won’t find them in the water, as they lack the toe-webbing needed to help them swim.
One thing about the blue poison dart frog is that they are very easy to recognize due to their bright color. Most often their limbs have the deepest color of blue while they tend to have black spots speckled across their heads, bellies and backs. Adult frogs are small, some as tiny as 1.5 cm to 6 cm. They have been known to weigh between 2 and 8 grams.
Apparently it is the frogs’ diet, consisting mainly of termites, ants and other small insects which gives them their highly poisonous toxin. In their tadpole form, the blue poison dart frog is not poisonous then once in their adult frog stage they are toxic to most predators (except a few specific snakes and spiders). Additionally, those frogs born and raised in captivity do not produce the same toxins as those in their natural habitat.
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