{"id":8569,"date":"2023-09-25T13:48:45","date_gmt":"2023-09-25T12:48:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/neuronicdev.es\/deep-sea-world\/animal\/black-legged-poison-dart-frog\/"},"modified":"2025-09-18T09:55:15","modified_gmt":"2025-09-18T09:55:15","slug":"black-legged-poison-dart-frog","status":"publish","type":"animal","link":"https:\/\/neuronicdev.es\/deep-sea-world\/discover\/animals\/black-legged-poison-dart-frog\/","title":{"rendered":"Black-Legged Poison Dart Frog"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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Introducing…<\/h2>\n
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Cute as a button but deadly to boot \u2013 meet the black-legged poison dart frog.<\/p>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/section>\n\n\n

Sure, the black-legged poison dart frog (Phyllobates bicolor) <\/em>may be adorable at first sight but don\u2019t underestimate this thumb-sized amphibian. This happy little hopper is the second-most toxic dart frog in the world, its skin loaded with enough poison to bring down a fully-grown human. Yikes!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Don\u2019t let that deter you, though, because the black-legged dart frog\u2019s toxicity is really reserved just for predators. Indeed, the threat of almost certain death coupled with the frog\u2019s \u201cstay back, I\u2019m dangerous\u201d colouring is enough to keep most would-be predators at bay.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Here\u2019s everything you need to know about the black-legged poison dart frog ahead of your official meeting at Deep Sea World.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Habitat<\/h2>\n
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Black-legged poison dart frogs are native to the rainforests of western Colombia, particularly the Ch\u00f3co region. Like all other poison darts, the black-legged frog is a tropical amphibian, meaning it requires a precise level of humidity to survive and keep its skin moist.<\/p>\n

Sadly, in the wild, black-legged poison dart frogs are now categorised as \u2018endangered\u2019 by the IUCN. That\u2019s mainly due to habitat loss brought about by deforestation, cattle grazing, mining, and pollution.<\/p>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n

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Appearance<\/h2>\n
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Well, for starters, their legs are black! As for the rest of them, they\u2019re yellowy-green in colour, so the contrast is quite striking.<\/p>\n

This distinctive colouring isn\u2019t all about avoiding becoming a passing predator\u2019s dinner, either. The vibrancy of the dart frog\u2019s colouring typically dictates how easily an animal will find a mate and reproduce, and it\u2019s very much the brighter the better where these frogs are concerned.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s worth pointing out, too, that the black-legged poison dart frog is one of the largest poison dart frog species, growing to an average size of 45-55mm.<\/p>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/section>\n\n\n

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Diet<\/h2>\n
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Black-legged poison dart frogs sure like to eat. Moving across the forest floor in double-quick time thanks to their rapid-fire hops, these carnivorous dart frogs snack on everything from termites to beetles, using their long, sticky tongues to ensnare their prey.<\/p>\n

As for predators, the poison dart frogs of South America are known to have only one natural nemesis, the fire-bellied snake\u00a0(Erythrolamprus epinephalus).\u00a0<\/em>These snakes, part of the Colubridae family, are thought to be immune to the toxins of poison dart frogs, including the golden poison dart frog\u00a0(Phyllobates terribilis)\u00a0<\/em>and its black-legged counterpart.<\/p>\n

Did you know?\u00a0<\/strong>The indigenous people of the Colombian rainforest have been known to extract the toxins of the black-legged dart frog for use in poison-tipped arrows for hunting.<\/p>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/section>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Sure, the black-legged poison dart frog (Phyllobates bicolor) may be adorable at first sight but don\u2019t underestimate this thumb-sized amphibian. This happy little hopper is the second-most toxic dart frog in the world, its skin loaded with enough poison to bring down a fully-grown human. Yikes! Don\u2019t let that deter you, though, because the black-legged dart […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":9003,"template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":true},"animal_type":[135],"class_list":["post-8569","animal","type-animal","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","animal_type-amphibian"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/neuronicdev.es\/deep-sea-world\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/animal\/8569","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/neuronicdev.es\/deep-sea-world\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/animal"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/neuronicdev.es\/deep-sea-world\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/animal"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/neuronicdev.es\/deep-sea-world\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/9003"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/neuronicdev.es\/deep-sea-world\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=8569"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"animal_type","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/neuronicdev.es\/deep-sea-world\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/animal_type?post=8569"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}