Toxic secretions are produced by a majority of frogs, as well as some salamanders and newts. These toxins are primarily used by these animals as a defense strategy against predators, making them deadly to consume.
Frogs are one of the most poisonous and dangerous creatures on the planet. The poison dart frogs of Central and South America have the most powerful skin poisons of any frog.
Here are 4 facts explaining the toxicity of these tiny amphibians.
1. One gram of the venom generated by the golden poison dart frog’s skin has the potential to kill 100,000 humans.
The venom of the golden poison frog is enough to kill 20,000 mice or 10 persons. It is the most deadly animal on the planet, and simply touching it may be dangerous.
The venom of Bruno’s casque-headed frog is considered to be 25 times more powerful than that of Central and South American Fer-de-lance pit vipers.
The venom of the Brazilian Greening’s frog is twice as strong as that of the Bothrops viper. However, this species’ head spines and skin glands are more developed, allowing more venom to be released and injected.
2. Frogs can be both toxic and venomous.
Most frogs are toxic rather than venomous. This implies that, unlike snakes, they cannot inject their poisons into people and must instead be swallowed or licked.
Frogs with spiny heads may be capable of injecting poison. Bruno’s casque-headed frog and Greening’s frog are located in Brazil and generate skin secretions similar to other dangerous frogs; however, both species have spiny bone protrusions that create their toxic venom. When they are pressed, their spines puncture their skin.
The frogs are considered dangerous because the toxic skin secretions that cover these spines can inject venom into a predator’s skins, including humans. Both frog species were discovered to be able to bend and twist their necks in ways that other species cannot, implying that they had more opportunities to inject their captor.
3. Frogs with the most vibrant colors are the most poisonous.
The degree of toxicity is usually proportional to how brilliant they are. The most poisonous species have highly vivid colors, whilst the non-toxic species have drab colors.
Many frog species, including the brightly colored poison dart frogs, are toxic. There are, nonetheless, poisonous species, albeit quite rare.
There is a group of frogs from the Dendrobatidae family, notable for their vivid colors and very poisonous behavior. Their name derives from the fact that indigenous Amazonian communities create poison darts from the venom of numerous kinds of frogs.
The blue-jeans frog is a sort of poison dart frog with a red body and blue legs. It is also known as the strawberry dart frog.
4. Most frogs expel poison via their skin.
Toxins are emitted via pores after being stored in glands beneath the skin. When a frog is agitated, it may emit huge quantities of poison all at once.
P. Ranwellai belongs to a frog genus known to have lethal tetrodotoxin in its skin secretions, albeit the Ranwella’s horned tree frog has yet to be tested for this toxin.
The Greening’s frog possesses enormous skin glands and head spines that allow skin poisons released by the frog to be injected into predators.
The Takeaway
Neither a snake nor a spider is the most toxic creature out there. In fact, it is a tiny frog! The spiny-headed tree frog poses the highest threat, however, this has yet to be investigated in greater detail.