Golden Poison Dart Frog

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phyllobates terribilis

Golden Poison Dart Frog…

phyllobates terribilis
Phyllobates terribilis. Author is webmaster of tierdoku cc2.0

Most poisonous frogs

The Golden Poison Dart Frog is the most dangerous of the poison dart frogs. The native people of South American rainforests use the poison of these frogs on their darts and arrows when hunting – which is where they get their name; poison “dart” frogs. The frogs are staked on top of a fire and heated. The native people then rub their darts on the backs of the frogs to coat it with the poison. This poison that is coated on the dart can last for over two years.




Poison dart frog habitat

Goldener Giftfrosch (Phyllobates terribilis)
Goldener Giftfrosch (Phyllobates terribilis) by Marcel Burkhard cc2.0

The frogs do not produce their own poison instead it is obtained from the insects they eat in their natural habitats in the South American rainforests. That is why frogs in captivity are not poisonous, or poisonous frogs that are taken captive lose their toxicity after some time.

Dart frog tadpoles

The golden poison frog pairs are very devoted parents. The eggs are laid on the ground hidden beneath the leaf litter. The tadpoles that emerge stick to their parent’s back and the parents carry them to the canopy to deposit them on pools of water that have accumulated in bromeliads and tree holes. The young feed on mosquito larvae, algae and unfertile eggs that the parents have left for them. Once they are grown the parent frogs lead them to existing frog groups.

Poison dart frog predators

Mint green morph
Mint green morph. Phyllobates terribilis, Dendrobatidae, Golden Poison Frog, Golden Dart Frog; Staatliches Museum für Naturkunde Karlsruhe, Germany. By H. Zell cc3.0

The toxin is secreted through the frog’s skin and is used for self protection and not for hunting. Also the frog is very vibrantly coloured, usually mint green, yellow or orange. This bright colouring wards off predators. The Liophis epinephelus (a kind of water snake) is the only predator that is resistant to the venom of the golden poison dart frog; however it is not completely immune to it. Only the golden poison frog itself is completely immune to its own poison.

Golden poison dart frogs are featured in the following books:
25 Most Deadly Animals in the World
25 of the Most Poisonous Animals in the World!
25 Amazon Rainforest Animals


The YouTube video below is a collection of videos about the golden poison dart frog. The list of videos featured is underneath.

Poison dart frogs videos can be seen here…

The Playlist:

  1. Golden Poison Dart Frog by SoftwareJellypie
  2. Golden Poison Frog, Phyllobates terribilis – Terrarium and Eating by mavortium
  3. Golden Poison Frogs calling by mavortium
  4. 15 Most Dangerous Animals in the Amazon Rainforest by IP Factly




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