Frogs are very common small animals in life, and they are listed as national third-level protected animals because they can catch pests and are beneficial to humans.
Common frogs
Most of our common frogs are green on the body, with dark stripes, and the abdomen is white, but have you ever seen a colorful, green frog? Are these frogs poisonous? How is it different from a normal frog?
Why is the poison dart frog highly poisonous
This colorful, petite frog is actually called the poison dart frog, and the general frog belongs to the same frog, they have a good name, called "the world's most beautiful frog", which shows how beautiful this frog is. The poison dart frog is no larger than 5 cm in size and the smallest is only 1.5 cm, which is as large as a coin. Don't look at their small size, but there are as many as 170 species. The color combination of the poison dart frog is diverse, often decorated with black, and matched with bright red, bright yellow, bright orange, pink, blue and green, which is particularly eye-catching in the tropical rainforest.
Poison dart frog
The poison dart frog lives in the rainforests of Central and South America and was discovered by Indians very early. Poison dart frogs are highly poisonous, but intelligent humans can still use them. They smeared the venom from the poison dart frogs on the arrows they used for hunting. Poison dart frogs also got their name.
In the tropical rainforest, in order to survive, there is always competition between them. How can a petite and colorful poison dart frog survive in such an environment? The reason is that they have venom on them. Predators are easily confused by their bright and beautiful appearance, thinking that such beautiful frogs are not enough to be afraid. It is because of this negligence that predators are subjected to strong retaliation from poison dart frogs. For less toxic poison dart frogs, as long as they do not touch their body fluids and blood, predator symptoms are relatively mild, such as rashes; but if they encounter a highly toxic poison dart frog, the predator will only touch their surface and will soon be poisoned.
Ghost Arrow Poison Frog
How do poison dart frogs secrete toxins in their fights against predators? This has a lot to do with their body structure. There are many tiny "granular" glands in their skin, which are connected to the mucous holes on the surface of the frog's skin, and when the poison dart frog encounters danger, the surface of their skin can secrete the venom they carry. That is to say, when the poison dart frog senses danger and the predator is not fully close to them, the poison dart frog has formed a self-protection umbrella in its own way.
Poison dart frog of multiple colors
However, intelligent humans always have to be superior, and if the Indians want to catch poison dart frogs, they will wrap them with leaves and other things, or directly put the arrows lightly on the back of the poison dart frog and scrape them back and forth, so that they will not hurt the poison dart frogs, and they will not be damaged by contact with venom.
Where does the poison dart frog's venom come from
The poison dart frog secretes venom, which makes it almost invincible in the rainforest. This can't help but raise a question, is the poison dart frog itself poisonous? Not. In fact, the poison dart frog itself is non-toxic, and the venom on its body is all eaten by itself! Frogs are known to feed on mosquitoes, locusts, and crickets, but poison dart frogs also eat spiders, and most of these spiders contain toxins in their bodies.
Spiders in the rainforest
Poison dart frogs eat these poisonous spiders, not only will not be poisoned, but also through the specific body functions of these toxins fused, absorbed, and when necessary, through the glands to discharge the toxins out of the body, which is like coating their own appearance with a protective film.
Of course, not every poison dart frog is so powerful, which is related to their species. The Golden Poison Dart Frog, the Ghost Poison Dart Frog, and the Red Belt Poison Dart Frog are three kinds of poison dart frogs with severe poison, of which the Golden Poison Dart Frog is the most toxic and is known as "the most poisonous frog in the world". The golden poison dart frog is golden yellow in color, looks particularly bright and small, and the entire body is not more than 5 centimeters, which is close to the size of 2 fingers.
Golden Arrow Poison Frog
The venom carried by a golden arrow poison frog can reportedly kill dozens of adults or more than 10,000 rats in three minutes. The speed of death and the number of deaths are truly jaw-dropping. So far, there is no suitable antidote to detoxify this poison.
How powerful is the poison dart frog's venom
According to statistics, there are as many as 800 kinds of toxins on the poison dart frog, and there are only more than 70 kinds of research results in humans, which is probably able to explain why the poison on the poison frog is not easy to solve. According to current research, the steroidal alkaloid toxin secreted by the poison dart frog can be fatal.
Toxin molecular formula
How powerful are alkaloid toxins? Even if the toxin is only a few milligrams, it can quickly attack once it enters the digestive system. First the skin will feel numb and tingling, and then quickly turn to a generalized muscle paralysis of the whole body, accompanied by gastrointestinal discomfort, vomiting and other symptoms. The alkaloid toxin is able to freeze nerves, and once the alkaloid toxin starts working, it blocks the nerve transmission impulses, and within a few minutes, the victim's muscles contract involuntarily, the respiratory muscles are paralyzed, and eventually lead to heart failure.
digestive system
As for why steroidal alkaloid toxins can cause such a serious toxic reaction, it can be well explained. But it is undeniable that the alkaloid toxin of the poison dart frog is related to the bugs it eats. Studies have confirmed that a large part of the insects eaten by poison dart frogs are small bugs containing alkaloid toxins. These toxins fuse and absorb each other, forming the alkaloid toxins unique to the poison dart frog. Inside this toxin, there are a large number of complex and insoluble toxins, and it still takes countless scientists to dedicate their youth to solve the mystery. This is also one of the reasons why poison dart frogs are so dangerous, and humans still need to do relevant research.
Currently, it can be synthesized into poison dart frog toxin
Although the alkaloid toxin is dangerous, why do the Indians dare to smear the venom on the arrow? This is related to the properties of alkaloid toxins. For humans, as long as the alkaloid toxin does not enter the digestive system, it generally does not cause harm to the human body; a small amount of alkaloid toxin may cause symptoms such as rashes if they come into contact with our skin.
Native American
But beware, the Golden Arrow Poison Frog is too toxic, even if it is only in contact with our skin, it may cause serious allergic reactions.
epilogue
Poison dart frogs are one of the smallest animals in the rainforest that are best at protecting themselves. They have evolved countless times over the generations, and by changing the shape of neurotransmitter receptors, through genetic mutations and evolutions again and again, they can absorb and use large amounts of toxins as weapons, protect themselves with beautiful appearances, and let their descendants be passed on in the cruel competition of the rainforest.