costa rica poison dart frogs

costa rica poison dart frogs
This fascinating group of frogs belongs to the family Dendronbatidae. In Costa Rica there are 7 species, 3 of which boldly display the bright and contrasting colors that are a family trademark. The group derived it common name from one species of the genus Phyllobates, used by the Chocó Indians of Columbia to envenom their blowgun darts. The toxin is secreted from glands in the skin, and simply rubbing a dart across the body of the frog is enough to transform it into a lethal weapon. The toxins of Costa Rica's poison dart frogs are not nearly as venomous as their Colombian cousin, but nonetheless they serve to defend the frogs from predators. An animal that feeds on any member of the Dendrobatidae is likely to suffer from violent sickness or death. The lucky survivors quickly learn to avoid anything with the color pattern that caused such extreme illness. Thus the bright reds, blues, greens, and blacks of the frogs actually serve as a warning. The technical term for this antipredator mechanism is aposematic coloration. Coral snakes, wasps, and monarch butterflies are other organisms that exhibit this trait.

Most poison dart frogs, which are active during the day(diurnal), feed primarily on ants and termites. Males defend a territory by physical combat (which is much like Greco-Roman wrestling) and vocalizations. Adults will actually carry tadpoles on their backs in order to bring them to pools of water that are found in canopy plants, such as bromeliads. This often involves climbing trees that can range from 10-200 feet in height. An astounding discovery, made recently, revealed that the female of the species Dendrobates pumilio actually lays unfertilized nutritive eggs in the bodies of water where their tadpoles reside, in order for them to feed. This is the only case on record of a vertebrate purposefully laying eggs as food for their young.

Keep your eyes open in any of Costa Rica's lowland wet forest, and you may b a lucky witness to this wonder of the world of amphibians.