The blue arrow frog is an adorable and precious frog, very small, whose blue tonalities remind of the clear skies of a summer day. This frog, which at first sight seems so inoffensive, is actually one of the most poisonous living beings that exists. Inhabiting the jungle zones of South America , this amphibian, which belongs to the genus of dendrobates , can present other striking colors, such as yellow or green.
In fact, the blue arrow frog uses its striking colors to warn potential predators that their skin contains a potent toxin that can poison them and even kill them. To produce the poison, these frogs secrete toxins through the glands of the skin. Maybe because they know how dangerous they can be, the character of the frogs is very aggressive and territorial, so be careful if you plan to invade their territory!
10 Curiosities of the Blue Arrow Frog | A very strange color and pure poison
1. The blue arrow frog habitat
The habitat of the blue arrow frog is, like most other frogs of its species, in the jungle areas of Suriname and Brazil . In addition, they love to always stay close to a source of water, such as a stream or a lake, have daytime habits and are tremendously lonely beings. In spite of being in humid environments, this type of frog is very bad swimmer, since it does not have interdigital membranes like the other frogs.
2. A cute, but deadly look
These amphibians are distinguished by having a very characteristic aspect of their species, as they are characterized by having a very bright color (which can go from purple to sky blue), usually something darker in the area of the gut and legs. In addition, the females are somewhat larger than the males, although the latter have the largest legs. The tips of the fingers of the females also differ from those of the males, since they are more rounded, while those of the males have a heart shape.
3. The buzz of courtship
From February to March, that is, in the rainy season, is when the courtship of this animal takes place. To attract the female, the male hides in a dark and cozy place, and begins to emit a slight buzz. The female, then, approaches and caresses her paw. Then, both will look for a humid place where they can lay the eggs and the offspring are born healthy.
4. Each frog is unique
Another of the main characteristics of the appearance of these precious amphibians is that there is none like the previous one. Each blue arrow frog, for example, has a different pattern of stripes and moles, as well as a proper posture that distinguishes it from other frogs of other species.
5. The why of his name
The name of the blue arrow frog refers to its characteristic as a poisonous animal , since the natives of the jungle used to impregnate the tips of their arrows or darts with the poison that secretes the skin of this frog (in fact, it was later learned that only those of the Phyllobates variety were used, that is, the yellow). The effect of its poison, by the way, consists in paralyzing the victim and, in cases of more serious poisoning, even killing it.
6. The males take care of the eggs
After the female has laid eggs in a dark and humid place and the male has fertilized them by covering them with their sperm , the male, and sometimes the female, will take care of the eggs, which will take about fifteen days to hatch. Then he will take care of the tadpoles for about twelve weeks, until they have become adults. For this, the male will defend his territory with fierceness.
7. The effects of the captivity
Captivity produces all kinds of effects on animals, most of them negative. The deprivation of liberty, for example, causes the blue arrow frog to lose some of the toxicity of its venom. On the other hand, a positive effect of captivity in this animal is its increase in life expectancy, which goes from being 4 to 6 years to ten, almost double. In captivity, the diet of frogs does not vary and is composed of insects.
8. Separate species ... or not
Formerly, it was believed that the blue arrow frog (or Dendrobates tinctorius azureus ) was a frog that belonged to a different species from the poison dart frog. However, subsequent genetic studies have shown that the different subspecies of poisonous frogs such as the blue arrow or the red dart, actually belong to the same species, the dendrobates tinctorius.
9. Variants of the blue arrow frog
Although the most common is that the blue arrow frog has a body of blue color punctuated by notes and black stripes, there are other variants. For example, one of the most curious is the dendrobates tinctorius, a yellow frog with black spots on the back and legs painted blue. This frog has a more extensive habitat than its cousin, the blue arrow, and is equally poisonous, although in captivity it loses all its venom.
10. Another legend related to your name
Another legend associated with the name of this frog states that the natives used the poisonous skin of the blue arrow frog to change the color of the feathers of parrots. To achieve this, they plucked feathers and rubbed them with the frog. When they returned to remove feathers, they came out yellow or red, and not green.
We hope you enjoyed this article about the blue arrow frog, a very, very dangerous amphibian. Tell us, do you like animals? Do you think we've forgotten to comment something important about this frog? Remember that you can tell us what you want in the comments!