Poison

That blue frog, Dendrobates azureus, is so cool looking that I had to go learn more about it. Here's some of what I found:

They're found in Suriname, in South America.

I have this strange mental block that every time I see the name of Suriname, I place it in Africa. I know better, but it's just stuck there. Note to self: upper-right, in that strip of French and Dutch places.

Their skin excretes a deadly neurotoxin.

They lay their eggs on land, not in the water, like most frogs.

Poison frogs don't make their own poison, they get it from the insects (mostly ants) they eat and then retain it in their own defense.

Poison frogs are found in South America and Madagascar - a remarkable example of a parallel convergent evolution in two species, both the ant and the frogs. The ants devoloped the poison, and the frogs developed the resistence and co-opted it for themselves independently. Link.

Other animals similarly get their poisons by eating the species that synthesize them in the first place. The snake Rhabdophis tigrinusb eats poison toads and retains the toxin. Mothers even pass the toxin down their offspring while they're eggs. Link.

See them all at the Poison Frogs Home Page.

Back to bunnies and boys kissing soon. Promise.