Dendrobatids
Poison Dart (or Poison Arrow) frogs receive their name because South American
Indians use toxic alkaloids contained in the skin of certain species to poison
the tips of their blowgun darts when hunting animals for use in religious
ceremonies. Most members of his family are brilliantly colored, presumably as
a warning to predators. This species, Dendrobates auratus, is common in the
tropical forests of Panama and Costa Rica.
Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute Photo by Marcos A. Guerra.
(c) 1991 Smithsonian Institution.
Description by
Mike Pingleton
Computer Utilization Analyst at NCSA.
http://gto.ncsa.uiuc.edu/pingleto/mike.html |