POISON DART FROGS Small, lethal, and wildly colored—charismatic members of the Dentrobatidae family are among the most poisonous animals alive. They can be found during the day, in the tropical rainforests of Central and South America.
BEHIND THE NAME Choco Emberá Indians in Colombia used some of these frogs to poison hunting darts, inspiring the common name of the family.
TINY BUT HARD TO MISS Poison dart frogs can be as small as 1.5 cm (about half an inch) but that doesn’t mean that they go unnoticed. Many of them display extravagant colors and bold patterns that
WHAT IS ALL THE FUSS ABOUT? These frogs are covered with batrachotoxins—a very toxic substance that may be derived from their diet. The amphibian’s eccentric colors warn predators about how poisonous they are, a natural strategy called aposematism. The family also includes species that are milder in color and toxicity.
DANGER IN DANGER Golden poison frogs have only one predator: Leimadophis
WINNING GOLD The most dangerous member of the family is the golden poison frog, probably the most toxic species on Earth. One frog could kill 10 to 20 adult humans.
is resistant to their poison and can eat them without perishing. Habitat loss and smuggling for pet trade are the biggest enemies of these versicolored amphibians.
VENOMOUS MAMMALS Furry, goofy, or adorable are not things that come to mind when we think of poison. Venomous mammals are rare, but they will change your assumptions about venomous creatures.
SLOW LORIS This minute big-eyed critter is the only venomous primate in the world, and is highly endangered. If you ever thought that petting cute-looking wildlife was a good idea, here you have an animal that would convince you otherwise. When slow lorises are threatened they raise their arms over their head. This disarming pose allows the tiny primates to quickly lick their underarm glands. The underarm glands produce secretions that turn lethal when mixed with the saliva. The mix can be used to poison the primate’s fur, or delivered in a long,
COMMON VAMPIRE BAT (DESMODUS ROTUNDUS) blood. They come out at night, crawling on all fours to approach their victims and latch onto them. Their
PLATYPUS (ORNITHORHYNCHUS ANATINUS) This abstruse creature is the only mammal that lays eggs and breastfeeds without nipples. As if that wasn’t enough, male platypuses have venomous spurs on their posterior legs. The spurs are used on mating competition and are active only during breeding season. Their venom is strong enough to kill a dog and it is excruciating humans.
TOXIC BIRDS
POISONOUS PLUMAGE Feathers and beaks and songs in the trees and wait, what? Poison? Yeah, poison! If it sounds surprising is because it’s rare. Poison spreads all over the tree of life, but no venomous birds are known, and very few are poisonous. Poisonous birds capture toxins from their environment, probably from their food. Some scientists think that the toxins are used as a chemical defense from predators, while others consider that they act as protection from external parasites. Both groups may be right!
HOODED PITOHUI (PITOHUI DICHROUS) While handing birds out of their nests for research in New Guinea, one researcher got scratched by a specimen. It hurt, and he immediately put the cut in his mouth, which started tingling and became numb. The scientists asked locals about the birds, and they totally knew that the “rubbish birds” (as they call them) are not only distasteful but also quite toxic. The researchers conducted some experiments and learned that hooded pitohuis have low concentrations of batrachotoxin, the same substance found in poison dart frogs. This made the hooded Pitohuithe of science, in the the nineties.
BLUE-CAPPED IFRITA (IFRITA KOWALDI) Native bird-hunters of New Guinea avoid yet another bird, the Blue-capped ifrita. Kairon and Simbai villagers call them “bitter bird” for obvious reasons. And it is creates a burning sensation that feels like an extremely powerful chilly pepper.
CHORESINE BEETLE The forests of New Guinea are also home to beetles from the genus choresine. These beetles have high levels of batrachotoxins and have been found in the birds’ stomachs. They are a good candidate to be the primary source of these bird’s toxins.
GILA MONSTER (Heloderma suspectum) EXCLUSIVE CLUB Gila monsters inhabit the deserts between Mexico and the Southwestern United States. They are one of the two remaining descendants of Monsterosauria, an ancient group of predacious lizards that lived in tropical environments. These cold-blooded creatures have bony skins with bead-looking plates that were common among dinosaurs but are very rare among modern reptiles.
UNFIT FOR THE HEAT
CHEWING VENOM
Gila monsters have been called a “crawling contradiction”. They live in the desert but have a fairly permeable skin—legacy of their tropical ancestors—that makes them dependant on humidity, and therefore ill-equipped for desert life. How do they manage to survive?
Heloderma suspectum has a powerful jaw and razor-sharp teeth with grooves that deliver venom. Its extended or chewing bite is agonizing but rarely fatal to humans.
FAST OR FEAST
LAYING LOW
Gila monsters can survive the whole year on 3 large meals; usually eggs or baby mammals. They accumulate fat in their robust tail and can use their bladders to store a 90 days’ supply of water. Young individuals can ingest 50% of their body mass in one meal.
These reptiles spend up to 90% of their time underground, emerging during the day in springtime, and at night in monsoon season. In the Spring, they become social and gather with peers.
GREATER BLUE-RINGED OCTOPUS (Hapalochlaena lunulata) THE DOUBLE LIFE OF A SUPER VENOMOUS CEPHALOPOD In shallow waters lives—its apparently discrete life—the blue-ringed octopus. These seemingly pipsqueaks are the size of a golf ball and generally shy and docile. They prefer to hang out close to home, leaving their crevice just to feed or mate, using their chromatophore seem to just get by, trying to go unnoticed.
A CALL TO ARMS When threatened... well, that’s another story. The blue-ringed octopus undergoes a super-herolike transformation. The pigment-containing lightand iridescent blue cells mobilize, performing a an iridescent and psychedelic aposematic display.
IT IS NOT JUST FOR SHOW The greater blue-ringed octopus is one of the most venomous marine animals, but they shouldn’t take the credit for it. Symbiotic bacteria in the octopus’ body generate the mortal toxins. The horny beak bite of this mollusk is painless, but can kill humans in minutes.
JELLYFISH GELATINOUS, GHOSTLY, BRAINLESS BEINGS
are 95% water and—without blood or a brain—can live have a multitude of stinging cells called cnidocytes. When triggered by contact, these cells shoot out a barbed thread that harpoons prey and it is often venomous.
SEA WASP (CHIRONEX FLECKERI) With a ghostly appearance, and tentacles up to 3 m (10 ft) long, the sea wasp may be sting causes agonizing pain and often death, great white sharks. Scientists have found an antidote to the sea wasp’s poison by editing the genes of human cells and observing how they were affected by the venom.
IRUKANDJI minute, but it hunts for prey and is in the world. Its sting has been described as “100 times as potent as that of a cobra and 1,000 times stronger than a tarantula’s”, it provoques a multitude of symptoms known as irukandji syndrome.
PACIFIC SEA NETTLE (CHRYSAORA FUSCESCENS) tentacles like a net and drifts waiting for arms not only embellish their ethereal silhouette, they also begin digestion while moving prey into its mouth. Their sting is painful but not lethal to humans.
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