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THE AUGUST
ECO-QUIZ WAS:
Embre and Choco Indians from Colombia use the poison secreted from the skin of P. terribilis to poison their blowgun darts, by wiping the darts over the backs of the frogs after heating the frogs over a fire. The heat causes the poison to moisten the back and becomes easily accessible. Once a dart is poisoned, the dart remains lethal for up to two years, and is used to catch small prey such as monkeys. Medical research is being done with the alkaloid toxin, batrachotoxin, that P.terribilis produces to develop muscle relaxants, heart stimulants, and anaesthetics. Researchers say it potentially can be a better anaesthetic than morphine. Source and more details: http://animaldiversity.ummz.umich.edu/accounts/phyllobates/p._terribilis$narrative.html THE
SEPTEMBER ECO-QUIZ IS
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No
one got it this time, maybe because it is hidden In the depths of jungles
west of the Andes: the tiny (1.5 inch / 3.8 cm), aptly named, Golden Poison
Frog (Phyllobates terribilis). Golden refers to its yellow colour but also
suits the potency of its poison. An average P.terribilis contains about one
milligram of batrachotoxin (poison) enough to kill 10,000 mice or 20 humans.
As frogs of this species grown in captivity are entirely harmless, it may
mean that the high toxicity of our friend is due to its consuming an unknown
mysterious small insect or other arthropod and that must be surely the most
poisonous creature of the planet.