Informative Essay: The Poison Dart Frogs

As a child my brother and I would spend our summers obsessing over this book about tree frogs he got from the book fair one year. We would spend hours outside trying to find tree frogs like the ones depicted in the book. Ever since then I’ve always enjoyed frogs and I consider them to be one of my favorite animals. Furthermore, I am going to educate you on one of Earth’s most poisonous and toxic, yet intriguing species, the poison dart tree frog. The poison dart tree frog’s scientific name is Dendrobates Tinctorius and the family name is Dendrobatidae, these animals wear some of the most beautiful colors on Earth. They are amphibians who habitat freshwater and usually live 3 to 15 years. Individual habits extend from Costa Rica to Brazil,

When newly hatched, the tadpoles climb on the mothers back and are held there safely by a sticky mucus. Some species display unusual parenting habits like this, carrying both eggs and tadpoles on their backs. This "backpacking" is not unique among amphibians and even male poison arrow frogs are exceptional in their care. They are usually the parent who guards the eggs until they hatch. In some cases, varying species of poison dart tree frogs will carry their tadpoles to a small pool of water isolated in a tree hole and the female returns repeatedly to feed the tadpoles “nurse” eggs, which they rely on for survival. Parental behaviors of this highly complex sort are quite rare among amphibians. The sticky mucus on the mothers back as mentioned above also keeps the babies moist during their long journey to the forest canopy where they will be safe from predators. The tadpoles stay in rainforest pools or in leaf crevices which are flooded with water and feed upon mosquito and insect eggs until they develop into frogs. When mature, poison dart tree frogs usually live on the forest floor but when breeding they venture into the forest