Phyllobates

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Phyllobates
The Golden Poison Frog (Phyllobates terribilis)
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia Phylum: Chordata Class: Amphibia Order: Anura Family: Dendrobatidae Genus: Phyllobates Duméril and Bibron, 1841
Species
see text

Phyllobates is a genus of poison dart frogs native to South America, from Nicaragua to Colombia. Phyllobates contains the most poisonous species of frog, the Golden Poison Frog (Phyllobates terribilis). They are typical of the poison dart frogs, in that all species are colourful, and have varying degrees of toxicity. Only species of Phyllobates are used by natives of South American tribes as sources of poison for their hunting darts. The poison these frogs emit from their skins is Batrachotoxin.

[edit] Taxonomy

Phyllobates used to contain many of the species which are now within the Dendrobates genus. However, it now just contains those within the Phyllobates terribilis species goup. These are:

• Phyllobates aurotaenia (Boulenger, 1913)
• Phyllobates bicolor (Duméril and Bibron, 1841)
• Phyllobates lugubris (Schmidt, 1857)
• Phyllobates terribilis (Myers, Daly, and Malkin, 1978)
• Phyllobates vittatus (Cope, 1893)

[edit] See also

• Batrachotoxin

[edit] References

• Amphibian Species of the World - Phyllobates Duméril and Bibron, 1841. Retrieved on 2006-07-21.
• Cogger, H.G.; R.G. Zweifel, and D. Kirschner (2004). Encyclopedia of Reptiles & Amphibians Second Edition. Fog City Press. ISBN 1-877019-69-0.