Deadliest frog on earth

Don't judge a lady by her body


1 .



Granular poison frog

The granular poison frog is found in Costa Rica and Panama, and has a bright red body that serves as a warning for its toxicity. Despite its bright colors and built-in protection system, it is listed as a vulnerable species due to habitat loss and degradation from agriculture, logging and human settlement. It is also captured for the pet trade but the extent of capture isn't known. For these frogs, like many species, humans are a bigger threat than predators.
credit : Brian Gratwicke




2 .

Lovely poison frog

The lovely poison frog is also known as the striped poison frog. Native to Central America, this is one of the least toxic of the Phyllobates genus (but is still in the most toxic genus of poison frogs). Though it indeed looks lovely, it is still deadly. It can hold enough toxin to cause heart failure in predators that try to eat it.

credit : Drriss & Marrionn




3 .

Strawberry poison dart frog

The strawberry poison dart frog is not the most toxic poison frog out there, but it is the most toxic of its genus, Oophaga. And you'll want to be wary of this species because you might not know what you're looking at, at least perhaps not at first. This species is usually bright red, but there are somewhere between 15 and 30 different color morphs, ranging from completely red, to the "blue jeans" coloration shown here, all the way to green with black spots! Even though its toxin is much weaker than species in the Phyllobates genus, it still packs a punch, causing swelling and a burning sensation. 

credit : Ggallice




4 .

Blue poison dart frog

The blue poison dart frog is found in southern Suriname and northern to central Brazil. Though all the members of this species are a brilliant blue color, the black spots are unique to each individual. Like most other poison frog species, they lose their toxicity in captivity as a result of an altered diet. Because this species is so easy to keep in captivity, it is popular as a pet.

credit : Alex Bartok




5 .

Golden poison dart frog

Some of the most beautiful things on this planet are also some of the most deadly. But that's the point , by standing out with vibrant colors, a species can ward off potential predators. This is the strategy of these tiny, vibrantly colored, and highly toxic frogs.

We might as well start our gallery with the most toxic of all poisonous frogs, and perhaps the most poisonous animal in the world, the golden poison frog. Even its scientific name, Phyllobates Terribilis , shows that small things can be incredibly harmful. The poison it carries is derived from its diet, and depending on location and diet, the average wild golden poison frog contains about one milligram of poison , which is enough to kill somewhere between 10 and 20 humans. Despite having this staggeringly powerful self-defense, it is still an endangered species.

credit : Gordon2208

6 .

Black-legged dart frog

You may have noticed that this frog, the black-legged dart frog, looks similar to the golden dart frog. Indeed it is, and it is also the second most toxic frog on earth after its like-colored cousin. Though it is a little smaller and more slender than the golden dart frog, and its toxin is a little weaker, it has still caused the death of humans.

credit : Ddriss & Marrionn




7 .



Kokoe poison dart frog

The kokoe poison dart frog is the third most toxic member of the Phyllobates genus, just behind the golden poison dart frog and the black-legged poison frog when encountered in the wild. It is also the tiniest of all three, but what it lacks in size it makes up for in song. Its call has been described as "beautiful and bird-like." Instead of males wrestling each other for dominance, they will simply face off and call loudly until one of them backs down. But don't be lured in by that song , this frog's toxin seeps in through open wounds and pores, causing intense pain, fever and seizures. Human fatalities from this frog have been suspected, though not confirmed.

credit : Brian Gratwicke

Source : treehugger