Green and Black Poison Dart Frog

Green and Black Poison Dart Frog
Dendrobates auratus

This is one of the most toxic animals in the world. These little gems of the rainforest eat mites which themselves contain potent alkaloid toxins. The frogs themselves are not affected, but the toxins concentrate in their skins and provide them with a potent self defence mechanism. Their bright colours are a warning to all would be predators - "Eat me at your peril!" This is known as aposematic colouration. Some of the forest tribes traditionally used the skin secretions of these frogs to coat their blowpipe darts to deadly effect, hence their name.