Fish, spiders - they all occupy second and following places, in first - poisonous frogs South and Central America. Their venom is ten times more toxic than that of snakes, and harmful substances superior in strength The most poisonous frog in the world, capable of killing a dozen people, is the terrible poison dart frog (or leaf frog). Moreover, the sign “terrible” is part of the official
Appearance indicates that tree frog- poisonous, and there are no enemies for it. The bright, flashy colors catch the eye and warn, although the frogs themselves small size. Their weight is only 3-4 grams. The smallest representatives, such as the little poison dart frog and the blue poison frog, weigh even less. Adorable babies They are painted in all the colors of the rainbow - from bright yellow to blue with red spots. It is the coloring that signals that you should not touch the reptile! Fortunately, the most poisonous frogs live only in tropical jungle America. Despite all the dangers, thousands of lovers purchase such dangerous creatures for your terrariums.
The number of species is surprising in its diversity; poison dart frogs alone have up to 130 subspecies. They all lead active daily lives and sleep at night. During the daytime, poisonous frogs hunt for ants, worms, termites and other insects. According to scientists, it is the diet of amphibians that influences high degree the toxicity of their poison. Hundreds of alkaloids that can be found on the skin of brightly colored frogs enter the body through food.
It is enough to touch the skin of a frog to get instant poisoning from the poison, which contains more than 100 lethal, highly toxic components. This mixture has a nerve-paralytic and cardiotonic effect. A person receives a dose of poison through minor injuries on the skin, as well as through pores, while toxic substances are instantly absorbed and delivered to the heart, causing paralysis and death within a few minutes. Scientists have calculated that one gram of leaf climber poison is enough to kill a thousand adults.
This property was used by the Indians for hunting arrows. Now I have found out that only 5 species of poison dart frogs produce deadly alkaloids - batrachotoxins. But while keeping these species in the terrarium, the amount of toxins on the skin decreased sharply. And they were not found at all in poison dart frogs born in captivity. Poisonous frogs are not aggressive, therefore they do not pose a threat to humanity, since when they are removed on a mass scale, the poison becomes less dangerous. The best remedy protection - just don't touch.
For science, poisonous frogs are a huge field for research and experimentation, during which fundamentally new medical preparations can be obtained. In particular, we're talking about about painkillers that are stronger than morphine, antibiotics, and drugs to stimulate cardiac function. While doctors of science are fighting for new drugs, poison dart frogs and leaf climbers are fighting for life on the planet, killing with their poison people and animals who dare to touch them inadvertently.
Frogs belong to the largest detachment amphibians - tailless. There are thousands of varieties, this issue contains 10 of the strangest and most unusual.
The rainbow frog is an object of worship in India. Hundreds of people flock to Reji Kumar's house in India every day to pray and ask for miracles. The frog was shimmering white when Reggie, from Thiruvananthapuram, the capital of Kerala in southern India, first saw it. Then it glowed yellow and then turned gray. A frog that constantly changes color is considered a god in India.
Hyalinobatrachium pellucidum - also called glass or transparent frog because of his transparent skin, through which you can see its insides. Unfortunately, this is an endangered amphibian species.
The harlequin frog is known by many names, such as the clown frog or the Costa Rican harlequin toad. Whatever you call it, it is a neo-tropical frog that used to be a fairly common species in Costa Rica and Panama. Now this species is listed in the Red Book; frogs of this species live today mainly in Panama.
The northern leopard frog is considered unusual appearance, reaching a length of up to 9 cm. The colors on its back vary from brown to dark green, and round spots are distinguished by a white line.
It is believed that the higher the geographic altitude, the larger the animal living there. However, the world's smallest frog lives precisely at altitude - in the Andes of southern Peru at an altitude of 3 - 3.19 meters.
The dye dart frog, such as this blue subspecies, - common name groups of frogs in the poison dart frog family, which lives in the Central and South America. Unlike most frogs, this species is active during the day and almost always has brightly colored bodies. Although all dart frogs are poisonous to some extent, levels of poison vary depending on the subspecies and population. Many subspecies are in danger of extinction. American Indians used their poison for their arrows and darts. (Gail Shumway/Getty images 2007)
The Goliath frog is the largest extant species of toad on Earth. Its dimensions reach 33 cm in length from the muzzle to the cloaca, and it weighs up to 3 kg. This species lives mainly in West Africa, near Gabon. The Goliath frog can live up to 15 years. They feed on scorpions, insects and small frogs. These frogs have excellent hearing, but do not have a vocal resonator.
Theloderma corticale, or Vietnamese marsh frog, is a species of frog in the copepod family. It can be found in Vietnam and possibly China. Usually lives in tropical and subtropical wet forests, intermittent freshwater swamps and rocky areas. The frog is also often called the moss frog due to the fact that its skin resembles moss growing on a rock, which, incidentally, provides it with excellent camouflage. Some people keep such a frog at home. The price of this miracle is approximately 45-75 dollars.
As the name suggests, the Mantella frog is red/orange in color. These are small frogs, reaching a length of up to 2.5 cm. They live in Madagascar.
This horned frog can grow up to 15 cm in length and is native to Uruguay, Brazil, and northern Argentina. Although this hulk looks like a cake (or a pincushion, if you prefer), it reacts very quickly when a lizard, small rodent, frog or bird flies by.
Ironically, the most beautiful representatives of the animal world are often the most dangerous and even deadly for humans and other representatives of the fauna. It's the same with frogs. So, the most poisonous and most beautiful frogs peace.
The more beautiful, the more dangerous. So much more dangerous that just one touch to their skin can end fatal. So which one should we be wary of?
Phyllomedusa bicolor
Sometimes it is also called the "monkey frog". A large individual that can boast of its two-colored body, as its name immediately implies: its top part It is painted in a bright light green color, slightly yellow towards the edge of the transition downwards, where the second, brown side of the frog begins, which has light spots. She is very curious and can go anywhere in search of adventure. The venom of the bicolor phyllomedusa causes strong, not very pleasant hallucinations and stomach upset. However, some tribes living off the coast of the Amazon are deliberately “poisoned” with poison to induce hallucinations.
Spotted dart frog
A stunningly beautiful frog: the head and body are decorated with large black and yellow circles, and the legs are black and blue. The skin of this frog is interesting not only for its beauty and poisonousness, but also because with its help, or more precisely, with the help of the poison secreted, Amazonian aborigines change the color of their feathers.
Red-backed poison frog
Bright red head and back, on light body black circles, that's what it looks like poisonous little one originally from Peru. Like many other animals, it produces its poison with the help of special food, in this case it poisonous ants. The frog uses poison only in case of its own protection.
Little poison dart frog
A bright, orange-red, very small frog that lives in the impenetrable forests of Central America. Her bright color warns that the frog is as dangerous as fire. And this is true, the poison of her skin leaves an unpleasant feeling of a burn.
Blue dart frog
Very cute creature, bright blue, the sides of this frog are slightly lighter than the rest of the body, but no less bright for this. The poison of this creature can kill itself large predator and even a person.
Charming leaf climber
This wonderful name is given to a small frog from Central America. It is the least poisonous compared to its other brethren, but this does not mean that its poison can give someone joy. The frog itself is very dark, almost black, with two bright orange stripes along its back.
Striped leaf climber
The poison of this frog is very severe pain, can even lead to paralysis. She has the same bright orange stripes along her back as the charming leaf climber, only wider. The frog itself is dark green, sometimes brown.
Spotted poison frog
In the tropical forests of Ecuador and Peru lives a beautiful frog, rightfully called the most poisonous among all representatives, because its poison is enough to kill up to 5 people! But you shouldn’t be afraid of her prematurely; she won’t attack first. In appearance it has many similarities with the spotted poison dart frog. Only at spotted frog larger spots all over the body.
Three-striped leaf climber
In the native forests of Ecuador, it is now rare to see these beautiful, bright red frogs, with three light, almost white stripes on their backs. Researchers are trying to save their species by breeding them in captivity. After all, their poison is not only deadly, but also useful, as it is about 200 times superior to morphine and is an excellent pain reliever.
Phyllobates terribilis—
a small frog from the genus of leaf climbers of the poison dart frog family. One of the most poisonous vertebrates on Earth. I - batrachotoxin.
(5 photos)
This the amphibian is considered one of the most poisonous representatives of the fauna of our planet. Terrible leaf climber is the world's largest poisonous frog.
It’s hard to imagine, but this “monster”, dangerous for all living things, measures only two to four centimeters! What is its danger?
Why is the terrible leaf climber so scary?
The most main feature The golden frog is that the danger when encountering it lies not in the teeth, the poisonous sting, or the toxic liquid injected at the moment of danger. This amphibian has a poisonous entire surface of its skin; it is covered with so much toxic substance – batrachotoxin that it is enough to poison more than ten people with a tragic outcome. And it doesn’t matter whether someone tries to offend her or just accidentally touches her - this is deadly! The poison, when it gets on the victim, blocks the nerve channels, has a paralyzing effect on the muscles, including the heart, so death occurs from heart failure or arrhythmia.
Horrible
leaf climber (Phyllobates terribilis).
The indigenous peoples of Colombia have used this poison for centuries to lubricate arrowheads, but the most amazing thing is that the toxin retains its terrible properties for up to two years! It is known that if any animal simply sits in the place where the terrible leaf climber was previously, its death is inevitable. One frog may contain only up to one milligram of batrachotoxin, but this amount is enough to kill two elephants. With its bright colors, the frog seems to warn everyone: "Careful - I'm very dangerous!"
A terrible leaf climber, a seemingly ordinary, small harmless frog.
What are the structural features of the golden frog?
Terrible leaf climbers very rarely reach sizes greater than five centimeters in length. One of the features of frogs of this species is the absence of membranes on their legs. But at the tips of their fingers there are disc-shaped extensions, similar to suction cups, with the help of which they climb trees. In addition, these frogs, unlike all other representatives of the genus, have bone plates in the lower jaw - the rudiments of teeth. It is also curious that these amphibians cannot tolerate even short-term hunger strikes. They must eat often, otherwise just three days without food can kill them.
The venom of this harmless amphibian is extremely toxic..
Habitat of Leaf Climbers– wet rainforests, their lower tier, where they live in small groups and lead a diurnal lifestyle. Usually their “family” consists of four or five females and only one male, because males have a strong sense of ownership and fight with each other for territory. Their confrontation is expressed as follows: the males first compete with their voices, producing short trills from several minutes to several hours, and if no one gives in, then it all ends in a real brawl, reminiscent of freestyle wrestling.
Terrible leaf climbers are caring parents and excellent hunters
Another feature of these amphibians is that they spawn on land, and not in water, like most of their relatives. In dark and damp thickets, the female lays 15 - 30 eggs and considers her mission completed - she leaves. The father remains near the eggs, he protects them, waters them with water, and periodically stirs them with his hind legs. A few days later, when the tadpoles appear, the father places them on his back and heads to the pond.
The terrible leaf climber - poisonous yellow frog.
It takes two or three weeks for the tadpoles to develop into... aquatic environment, and then the baby frogs are born. Now they can go onto land and begin an independent life, but still young individuals continue to live with their parents or not far from them for quite a long time. This can continue until the moment when the grown frogs themselves are ready to create their own “family.”
An interesting fact remains that the golden poison frog never uses its terrible poison for hunting, feeding on ticks, small ants, bugs and other insects. By nature she is a peaceful creature, and her formidable weapon– poisonous toxin – serves only for self-defense.
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