Golden Poison Frog
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Golden Poison Frog
One of the largest of all poison dart frogs, Phyllobates terribilis is also the main source of poison hunting darts used by the Choco Emberá people in Colombia's Rainforest.
Poison
Its alkaloid poison, Batrachotoxin, prevents nerves from transmitting impulses, leaving the muscles in an inactive state of contraction. This can lead to heart failure or fibrillation. It also lasts long after the frog has left the area; chickens and dogs have died from contact with a paper towel that a frog had walked on. One wild adult terribilis has enough poison to kill up to 100 adult humans and 20.000 mice [1] (http://animaldiversity.ummz.umich.edu/site/accounts/information/Phyllobates_terribilis.html). However, this poison is lost in captive-bred and raised frogs due to a lack of certain items in its diet, currently unknown, although new research has hinted that a beetle from the family Melyridae may be the key ingredient responsible for the frog's lethal poison.
Captive Care
Like the other Poison dart frogs, Phyllobates terribilis is harmless when raised away from its natural food source. They are a popular rainforest vivarium subject and are somewhat easier to feed than some dart frogs. Larger species of fruit flies, small crickets, waxworms, small mealworms, termites, and phoenix worms can be used if supplemented with calcium and other minerals. The temperature should be in the low to mid 70's as they are sensitive to high heat and suffer from a condition called wasting syndrome if overheated for too long. They require high humidity as they come from one of the world's most humid rainforests. P. Terribilis is not as territorial as most dart frogs and can successfully be kept in groups. However, they require a slightly larger enclosure due to their adult size, similar to the enclosure size used for Dendrobates tinctorius. Occasional disputes may occur, but injuries are rare, while death is never the result of such conflicts.
Green is the most common morph seen in the United States while orange and yellow are available although in much smaller numbers.
Captive breeding of this species is currently on the rise.
External links
- A dangerously toxic new frog (Phyllobates) used by Emberá Indians of western Colombia, with discussion of blowgun fabrication and dart poisoning (http://digitallibrary.amnh.org/dspace/bitstream/2246/1286/1/B161a02.pdf) - Bulletin of the AMNH ; v. 161, article 2
- The True Poison-Dart Frog: The Golden Poison Frog Phyllobates terribilis (http://www.herpetologic.net/frogs/caresheets/terribilis.html)
- Beetle May Be Source of Frog's Poison (http://www.usatoday.com/tech/columnist/aprilholladay/2006-07-31-ethanol-frogs-reader_x.htm) - USA Today
References
- Bolívar & Lötters (2004). Phyllobates terribilis (http://www.redlist.org/search/details.php?species=55264). 2006 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. IUCN 2006. Downloaded on 11 May 2006 Database entry includes a range map and justification for why this species is endangered
