Poison Dart Frogs—Drop Dead Gorgeous

The family of poison dart frogs (Dendrobatidae) boasts over 245 species, displaying
an astonishing array of colors and potency.1 The brilliant colors and patterns
range from strawberry red, canary yellow, and sunny orange to metallic green
and black with yellow polka-dots. When eaten, some merely taste bitter or irritate
the predator’s mouth with burning or numbness; a few, however, are truly deadly,
even to humans.2

Despite their deadliness, these dazzling creations hold the promise of benefitting
all our lives. How can this be, you ask?

Golden and Terrible

Consider the golden poison dart frog. It is, in a word, gorgeous. Though no
more than 2 inches (55 mm) long, this magnificent frog stands out like no other
in the dim forests of Colombia, South America.

Yet another word is equally appropriate: deadly. The golden poison dart
frog, also known as the terrible dart frog, exudes one of the deadliest toxins
known to man. The equivalent of just two grains of table salt (less than 1 milligram),
flowing in a person’s bloodstream, can cause death in mere minutes. In fact,
animals can die just by touching a spot where a golden dart frog has recently
been.

Few other creatures can match the toxins of this beautiful killer.

Poison dart frogs, or simply dart frogs, actually get their name from the fact
that native peoples of the Chocó region of Colombia use their toxin when hunting
spider monkeys and other game. Hunters of the Embera tribe will catch small
golden dart frogs, rub their darts on the frogs’ backs, and then load the darts
into their blowguns. With this deadly weapon, they can take down monkeys, birds,
or even jaguars.

Scientists estimate that just one of these potent frogs has enough poison to
kill 10–20 adult men, so the natives must use caution when rounding up their
unwitting little hunting partners. They carry them in small wicker baskets until
they need more poison.

So the frogs themselves are not fierce predators (unless you happen to be an
ant crossing their path). Their toxins are only for defense, and they possess
another tool that may be just as critical to their protection: bright colors.
Scientists suggest that the bright colors benefit dart frogs by warning predators
of their toxicity. Predators know to avoid these bright amphibians, but exactly
how they know—or learn—about this danger remains a mystery.

Pick Your Poison

Scientists are intrigued by the complex molecules that dart frogs can produce.
They are extremely powerful nitrogen compounds known as batrachotoxins (literally,
“frog poison”). This special form of neurotoxin (“nerve poison”) interferes
with the transmission of nerve impulses. One drop can cause the human heart
to stop beating.3

If absorbed into the bloodstream through the eyes, nose, a cut, or even directly
through the skin, the poison is capable of causing convulsions, paralysis, and
death. But that capability is not what interests scientists most.

The phenomenal ability to suppress nerve impulses could lead to new drugs that
help patients who are in great pain. Epibatidine, from the Epipedobates
dart frogs, blocks pain two hundred times more effectively than morphine, without
addictive or sedative side effects.4 Researchers hope to
synthesize compounds similar to epibatidine into new, safe, effective painkillers.5
The possibilities seem too good to be true.

So something that seems so bad may actually serve a good purpose in the end.

Killer Hobby?

Despite poison dart frogs’ deadly toxins, many people enjoy keeping them in
captivity. In fact, the Creation Museum, where we authors work, hosts an exhibit
of live dart frogs. Isn’t that dangerous?

Actually, not at all. These amphibians gradually lose their toxicity when removed
from the rainforest and their normal diet. In fact, those hatched in captivity
are never poisonous. The frogs must eat their natural prey, which includes a
high percentage of ants, in order to produce the toxins. Some scientists speculate
that the ants obtain the necessary compounds from the plants they eat.

And that reinforces a very important lesson these wonderful frogs teach us.
In the original “very good” world that God created (Genesis 1:31), no frogs
were dangerous. Adam and Eve could hold any beautiful frog, admiring God’s handiwork,
without fear of harm.

But Adam and Eve’s rebellion against God in Genesis 3 brought all the pain,
death, and evil into the world. What were poison dart frogs like before the
Fall? Just as the frogs in captivity are not toxic, before sin no animal would
have caused harm. Perhaps the original dart frogs didn’t produce the chemicals
until after the Fall, just as plants didn’t originally produce thorns and thistles.
Or perhaps the same substances were present but simply not harmful before the
Fall. (Today, one small snake can even eat the terrible dart frog without ill
effects.6)

We can see God’s creativity and wisdom in the design of dart frogs, as in all
the rest of His creation. Their dazzling beauty and variety show His creative
genius. He gave them protection from predators in a fallen world. We can even
see God’s provision for man, supplying substances that help the people who live
in the rainforest acquire food, and now it appears the chemicals may help us
develop new medicines to treat diseases and pain. Things that at first seem
completely destructive—such as deadly toxins—can be used to nurture life. What
else would we expect from a God who gave His life to save ours?

SourceThis article originally appeared on answersingenesis.org

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