SAMMER'S POISON DART FROGS 

-Domain: Eukaryote

-Kingdom: Animalia

-Phylum: Chordata

-Class: Amphibia

-Order: Anura

-Suborder: Neobatrachia

-Superfamily: Dendrobatiodia

-Family: Dendrobatidae

Description:  The poison dart frogs have beautiful colors but they are very poisonous.  They range from one inch to two and a half inches in length, and have excellent eye sight.  There are more than 100 species of these frogs all with different color and patterns.  Their nice colors warn predators that they are poisonous, and some frogs even adapted patterns like the poisonous frogs to scare away predators. They hold their poison in their skin and they let it out when they feel that they are in danger. One of the deadliest frogs' poisons is batrachotoxin.  This toxin affects ion channels in cell membranes, and severely affects muscles and nerves of the heart.  The symptoms are strong muscle contractions, violent convultions, salivation, shortness of breath, and death.  Some scientists think that some patterns could also act like camouflage on the jungle floor, in trees, or in other places.  They do not need to migrate.

Habitat: The poison dart frog lives in the rainforests of Central and South America.  They like hot, humid weather.  They live on or close to the ground or in trees as high as ten meters.  Some of the Hawaiian Island are habitats for these frogs too.

 Diet:  The reason they are so toxic is their diet.  In the wild they mostly eat small bugs that they find on the forest floor such as spiders, ants, and termites.  In the zoo they are given crickets, making them almost completely non-toxic.  They catch their prey with their great eyesight and their long tongues.

Mating:  The poison dart frog's mating 'ritual' is really complicated.  First the males make a loud chirping sound to attract their mates and then, once the mating part is done, the female lays her eggs on a leaf.  The eggs are covered in goo for protection against decay.  During the two weeks that the eggs are developing the Dad comes to check on them.  Once they hatch the tadpoles get onto the dad's back and he takes them to a spot where they can grow into frogs.  This spot could be in wet holes in broken trees and branches, little ponds, wet coconut shells, and even in tin cans and car tires.  Pools of water that collect in bromeliads are also used by some species.  

 

 Life Span:  Poison dart frogs live more than ten years in captivity.

Predators:  Adult poison dart frogs do not have many predators beside certain snakes and giant spiders.  The tadpoles don't have poison so things like snakes, lizards, spiders, and mosquito larvae.

Sources of pictures, movies, and information:

http://nationalzoo.si.edu/Animals/Amazonia/Facts/fact-poisondartfrog.cfm

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Poison_dart_frog 

http://www.dartfrog.co.uk/images/frogs/dendrobates/d-azureus2.jpg

http://static.howstuffworks.com/gif/frog-life-cycle.gif

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FNd2z43Ofas

http://www.asanltr.com/ASANews-99/995frogs.htm

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Poison_dart_frog#Habitat 

Pages I think you should see:

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