- © A. Reitsma, Aquarium of the Pacific
- Photo taken at the Aquarium's exhibit of dart frogs.
Although all poison dart frogs are venomous, only three have poison that is lethal to humans. The golden poison frog is one of these and the most deadly. Its poison is 20 times more toxic than that of other dart frogs. It is reported that an amount of poison equal to 2-3 grains of table salt is enough to cause the death of a human. Perhaps, that is the reason their other common name is terrible frog.
Facts and Features
- Geographic Distribution
Small area of southwest coastal Columbia, South America. Scientists have been unable to determine the exact true geographic range of the golden poison frogs because of the risks of surveying land owned by the Columbian drug cartels.
- Amazing Facts
The Embera Choco indigenous people of western Columbia rub their homemade blow darts against the the back of a golden dart frog to coat the darts with poison. The frog is impaled at the end of a stick and then heated over a fire. The poison on the coated dart can last for a year. It is believed that the poisoned darts were used as weapons in past warfare.
- At the Aquarium
The Aquarium's habitat for these frogs is in the Tropical Pacific Gallery. Our golden poison frogs were captive-bred.