Arrow frog: discover the species behind the poison cited in case involving Russian opponent

Blue arrow frog Sébastien Sant/iNaturalist Russian opponent Alexei Navalny, who died in 2024, was poisoned with a lethal toxin in a Russian prison, five European countries said in a joint statement released this Saturday (14). The toxin was extracted from a typical South American frog and considered one of the most poisonous animals in the world. According to information in the statement, analysis of samples from Navalny’s corpse found epibatidine, a toxin found in poisonous arrow frogs. Below, find out about the species. Arrow frog Ameerega trivittata, a poisonous species that occurs in the Amazon rainforest Ubiratã Ferreira Souza Arrow frogs form a group of amphibians from the dendrobatid family, which brings together dozens of species distributed mainly throughout the tropical forests of Central and South America, including Brazil. Unlike many other frogs, which camouflage themselves to escape predators, they do the opposite: they display vibrant colors such as yellow, gold, red, green, blue and black. This strategy is called warning coloring. By displaying flashy tones, the animal signals that it should not be attacked. The skin of these frogs secretes toxic substances capable of paralyzing — and, in some cases, killing — predators. A single of these amphibians can produce up to 1900 micrograms of this intense venom, making it 20 times more toxic than other frogs. This can be enough to kill even larger animals. Arrow frog Reproduction TV Globo Where the poison comes from Scientists are still investigating the exact origin of the toxicity of these frogs. The main hypothesis is that they do not produce the poison directly, but accumulate it through food. In nature, they feed on ants, termites and beetles that contain toxic alkaloids. These compounds would then be stored in the amphibian’s skin. Interestingly, individuals raised in captivity and fed a different diet lose much of the toxicity, which reinforces the theory that the venom is linked to what they eat in the wild. Danger to humans For the poison to be lethal to humans, direct contact with the toxin in sufficient quantity is necessary. Furthermore, as toxicity depends on diet, frogs raised outside the natural environment tend not to present the same level of danger. See the videos that are trending on g1

Source link