Golden dart frog, Golden poison arrow frog
The golden poison frog (Phyllobates terribilis ), also known as the golden dart frog or golden poison arrow frog, is a poison dart frog endemic to the rainforests of Colombia. The golden poison frog has become endangered due to habitat destruction within its naturally limited range. Despite its small size, this frog is likely the most poisonous animal on the planet.
The golden poison frog is the largest species of poison dart frog, and can reach a weight of nearly 30 grams with a length of 6 cm as adults. Females are typically larger than males. The adults are brightly colored, while juvenile frogs have mostly black bodies with two golden-yellow stripes along their backs. The black fades as they mature, and at around 18 weeks of age the frog is fully colored. The frog's color pattern is aposematic (a coloration to warn predators of its toxicity). Despite their common name, golden poison frogs occur in four main color varieties or morphs:
The golden poison frog is endemic to humid forests of the Pacific coast of Colombia in the Cauca and Valle del Cauca Departments in the Chocó Rainforest. The optimal habitat of this species is the rainforest with high rain rates (5 m or more per year), altitudes from sea level to 200 m elevation, temperatures of at least 26 °C, and relative humidity of 80–90%. It is known only from primary forest. The eggs are laid on the ground; the males transport the tadpoles to permanent pools. Its range is less than 5,000 square km; destruction of this habitat has contributed to P. terribilis becoming an endangered species.
The frog is normally diurnal; golden poison frogs live evenly spaced without forming larger congregations.
The golden poison frog is the most poisonous animal on the planet; these frogs produce deadly alkaloid batrachotoxins in their skin glands as a defense against predators. To become poisoned a predator generally must attempt to consume the frog, although this species is so toxic that even touching an individual frog can be dangerous. This extraordinarily lethal poison is very rare. Batrachotoxin is found only in three poisonous frogs from Colombia (all genus Phyllobates ), a few birds from Papua New Guinea, and four Papuan beetles of the genus Choresine in the family Melyridae. Batrachotoxin affects the sodium channels of nerve cells, but the frog has modified sodium channels unaffected by batrachotoxin.
This species is an unspecialized ambush hunter; an adult frog can eat food items much larger in relation to its size than most other dendrobatids. The main natural sources of food of P. terribilis are the ants in the genera Brachymyrmex and Paratrechina, but many kinds of insects and other small invertebrates can be eaten, specifically termites and beetles, which can easily be found on the rainforest floor. Tadpoles feed on algae, mosquito larvae, and other edible material that may be present in their environment.
Males advertise to receptive females with a trilling call. Golden poison frogs are notable for demonstrating tactile courtship during reproduction, each partner stroking its mate's head, back, flanks, and cloacal areas prior to egg deposition. The eggs are fertilized externally. The golden poison frogs lay their eggs on the ground, hidden beneath leaf litter. Once the tadpoles emerge from their eggs, they stick themselves to the mucus on the backs of their parents. The adult frogs carry their young into the canopy, depositing them in the pools of water that accumulate in the centre of bromeliads and water-filled tree holes. The tadpoles feed on algae and mosquito larvae in their nursery.
