L k—D What may be pretty to the eye o could be deadly to the touch. n’t T h! ouc by Ellen Lambeth u left T he frog at is small enough to perch on your finger (see actual size below). But you would want to think twice about letting it do that. Why? Because it’s a poison frog. All frogs have glands in their skin that ooze slimy stuff called mucus (MYOO-kuss). The mucus protects the skin from germs and also keeps it moist. Also, some chemicals in the mucus may taste bad to certain hungry birds and other predators. As you can guess, though, a poison frog has other glands with chemicals that are— well, poisonous!

NORTH AMERICA

where poison frogs live SOUTH AMERICA Next to a tiny strawberry poison frog, a dewdrop on a leaf looks like a giant blob of water.

20 GREGORY BASCO/GTPHOTO (20-21, 21 INSET) 21 POISON PĄRENTS Poison frogs may cause other creatures to steer clear. But they’re very caring to their own young. When it’s time for a pair to mate, the first step is to find a moist egg-laying spot. After Here’s looking at you, kid! the eggs are laid, one This golden poison frog or the other parent seems to have a fearless guards the eggs and Ą phantasmal stare. Ąnd why shouldn’t makes sure they poison frog keeps it? It’s the most poisonous don’t dry out. The close watch poison frog of all. parent will even pee over its eggs. on the eggs if needed

; SERGI REBOREDO/PHOTOSHOT (22B); PETE OXFORD/NPL/ PETE (22B); REBOREDO/PHOTOSHOT SERGI ; to keep them moist. all together, a few water. Or the mother frog After a couple of weeks, at a time, or one by one—to may lay unfertilized eggs (no tadpoles (baby frogs) hatch a small stream or pool. That babies inside) in the water out of the eggs. But the tad- pool may even be way up for the tadpoles to eat. In a tribes have figured out how toxin. When he comes across poles need to get to a body high in the treetops, in a cup- few months, metamorpho- TOO TERRIBLE to use the frog’s toxin. With- prey, he loads a poison dart of water to continue grow- shaped plant called a sis (meh-tuh-MOR-fuh-sus) TO TOUCH out hurting the frog, a hunter into one end of a special hol- ing. How? They wriggle onto bromeliad (broh-MEE-lee-ad). changes the tadpoles into Many kinds of poison frogs wipes the tips of sharp, wood- low stick called a blowgun. their parent’s back to go by The growing tadpoles may their adult body forms. are toxic (poisonous) enough en splinters (darts) on its back Then he aims it at his target Piggyback Express! The par- feed on insects or tiny crea- to paralyze or even kill most > (23BR) SOURCE TOMASINELLI/SCIENCE FRANCESCO (23BL); NASKRECKI/MINDEN PICTURES PIOTR ; ent then carries them— to coat each one with slimy and blows forcefully into the tures and plant bits in the Thethree-striped poison predators. And the deadliest other end to shoot out the frog at left hauls tadpoles of all is the gold- dart. And now you know why on its back to water. The en poison frog. many people call these frogs pool below, formed by a The terrible tox- MINDEN PICTURES (23T) > (23T) PICTURES MINDEN “poison dart frogs.” THOMAS MARENT/ARDEA (22T); MARK MOFFETT/MINDEN PICTURES (22M) > plant’s leaves, is the nursery ins in just one of for a harlequin poison frog these tiny terrors tadpole. would be enough to kill ten people! Hunters in some South American

Ą hunter carefully holds down a poison frog and rubs a dart across its back (above). Then he loads the poison-tipped dart into his blowgun and gets ready to shoot (right). 22 23 strawberry olor me green-and- D Y black C There are 184 species of poison frogs, and they come EĄDL in every color of the rainbow. (Even frogs of the same kind may look very different, depending on where they live.) The bright colors are a clear warning to predators:Now you see me—better leave me be! Scientists think the toxins come from the beetles, ants, and mites the frogs eat in the wild. harlequin

bumblebee

strawberry

harlequin

red-banded green- and-black

granular

P oison frogs range in length from only a half-inch to a couple inches. But despite their tiny size, many can pack a powerful punch. So if you ever find yourself in their rainforest home, MICHAEL TURCO (24TL, 25MR, 25BR) >; THOMAS MARENT/MINDEN PICTURES (24TC, 24BL); ROLAND SEITRE/MINDEN PICTURES = 24 (24TR) >; MICHAEL FOGDEN/DRK PHOTO (24BR); ART WOLFE (25T); THOMAS MARENT/ARDEA/ANIMALS ANIMALS (25ML) keep your eyes open and your hands off! 2525