Poison Dart Frog- Affects on Nervous System

Caitie McDonald 9 Bronze

Poison Dart Frog- Affects on Nervous System

• Part of the Dendrobatidae family • Native to central and northern

areas of South America• Over 175 different species

• All are toxic

Poison Dart Frogs can vary from 1.5 cm to 6cm in adult length, and weigh

on average 2 grams. They are brightly coloured to warn off potential

predators.

Poison Dart Frog - ToxinsThe frogs excrete a deadly toxin through their skin. It has become known that Poison dart Frogs obtain

this poison from their diet; prey such as small insects. The toxin of a frog bred in captivity

wouldn’t be as strong as a wild Poison Dart Frog because it wouldn’t have these certain prey

available to them.

Leimadophis epinephelusPoison Dart Frogs are not affected by their

own poison because their body has become immune to it’s affects. However other

animals have also developed immunity to the poison, such as the snake,

Leimadophis epinephelus.

Case StudyAffect on the

nervous system:

Poison Dart Frogs received their name from the use of their toxic

secretion on blow darts, which are used to kill medium sized animals in Columbia. If hit by one if these darts the victim will experience

detrimental affects to their nervous system and often death.

The poison in the toxic secretion used in blow darts is Batrachotoxin, a nerve poison, discovered by

American scientists John Delly and Bernard Whitcup.

Affect on the

nervous system:

If someone were to come into contact with a Poison Dart Frog the same outcome would occur:Affect

on the nervous system:

Poison Dart Frogs

• Stops nerve impulses from being transmitted around the body.

• Permanently opens channels that are essential to the nervous

system.

Because nerve impulses can no longer be transmitted, it is common for victims to experience cardiac arrest.

Affect on the

nervous system:

After just one minute the heartbeat would begin to

fasten; eventually the contractions of the heart muscle would become so

strong that a heart attack is likely. After a few minutes the whole nervous system would

begin to be affected; paralysing the body.

There is no antidote for it’s affects; and the amount of people affected yearly is

unknown.

Affect on the

nervous system:

In the worst case scenario:

Batrachotoxin is highly toxic, and 100

micrograms (approximately the weight of 2 grains of table salt) would

be lethal to a 68kg person.

Batrachotoxin

BIBLIOGRAPHY• http://library.thinkquest.org/C007974/2_2poi.htm• http://

chemweb.calpoly.edu/cbailey/377/PapersW08/PaulM/index.html

• http://www.bio.davidson.edu/Courses/anphys/2000/Todd/Todd.htm

• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Poison_dart_frog• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Batrachotoxin• http://www.bio.davidson.edu/Courses/anphys/2000

/Todd/toxintype.htm