Poisonous amphibians are amphibians that produce toxins to defend themselves from predators.
Amphibians Most toxic amphibians are poisonous to touch or eat. These amphibians usually sequester toxins from animals and plants on which they feed, commonly from poisonous insects or poisonous plants. Except certain salamandrid salamanders that can extrude sharp venom-tipped ribs, and two species of frogs with venom-tipped bone spurs on their skulls, amphibians are not known to actively inject venom.
Toxic Frogs and Toads An example of poison ingestion derives from the poison dart frog. They get a deadly chemical called lipophilic alkaloid from consuming a poisonous food in the rainforest. They are immune to the poison and they secrete it through their skin as a defense mechanism against predators. This poison is so efficient, the native people of the South American Amazon rainforest use the frogs' toxins on their weapons to kill their prey, giving the frogs their nickname the "poison dart frog".
+ImageScientific nameActive agentDistributionDendrobatidae Poison Dart Frogs lipophilic alkaloid toxins: allopumiliotoxin 267A, batrachotoxin, epibatidine, histrionicotoxin, pumiliotoxin 251D humid, tropical environments of Central and South AmericaLeptodactylidae or southern frogsbiogenic amines: leptodactyline, tryptamines (5-HT, 5-HO-NMT, 5-HTQ, dehydrobufotenine), histamine, NMH, othersNeotropical frogsMantella genus Golden frogs or Malagasy poison frogsalkaloid toxins Madagascarnorthern corroboree frog (Pseudophryne pengilleyi)pseudo-phrynamine Southern Tablelands of Australia.southern corroboree frog (Pseudophryne corroboree)pseudo-phrynamine Southern Tablelands of Australia.Bruno's casque-headed frog (Aparasphenodon brunoi)Unknown injectable venomBrazilGreening's frog (Corythomantis greeningi)Unknown injectable venomBrazilPanamanian golden frog (Atelopus zeteki) Zetekitoxin AB, Bufadienolide Central Panama. American toad (Anaxyrus americanus) Bufotoxin eastern United States and Canada.Colorado River toad (Incilius alvarius)5-MeO-DMT, Bufoteninsoutheastern California, New Mexico, Mexico and much of southern ArizonaRhinella arenarumBufotoxinArgentina from the Chubut Province northward, Bolivia east of the Andes, southern Brazil, and UruguayAsian giant toad (Phrynoidis asper)BufotoxinMainland Southeast Asia and the Greater Sundas.Colombian giant toad, Blomberg's toad (Rhaebo blombergi)Bufotoxinwestern Colombia (Chocó, Valle del Cauca, Cauca, and Nariño Departments) and northwestern Ecuador (Carchi, Esmeraldas, and Imbabura Provinces)western toad (Anaxyrus boreas)Bufotoxinwestern British Columbia and southern Alaska south through Washington, Oregon, and Idaho to northern Baja California, Mexico; east to Montana, western and central Wyoming, Nevada, the mountains and higher plateaus of Utah, and western Colorado.common toad, European toad Bufo bufo bufotalin, bufalitoxin and bufotoxinEuropeAsiatic toad or Chusan Island toad (Bufo gargarizans)BufotoxinEast Asia.African common toad or guttural toad (Sclerophrys gutturalis) Bufotoxin Angola, Botswana, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Kenya, Lesotho, Malawi, Mauritius, Mozambique, Namibia, Réunion, Somalia, South Africa, Ethiopia, Eswatini, Tanzania, Zambia, and Zimbabwe. Japanese common toad, Japanese warty toad or Japanese toad (Bufo japonicus)bufotalin, Bufotoxin Japan and is present on the islands of Honshu, Hokkaido, Kyushu and ShikokuFowler's toad (Anaxyrus fowleri)Bufotoxineastern United States and parts of adjacent Canadacane toad (Rhinella marina)Bufotoxin, BufoteninRio Grande Valley in South Texas to the central Amazon and southeastern Peru, and some of the continental islands near Venezuela (such as Trinidad and Tobago) Introduced in Australia, Florida and Hawaii, Papua New Guinea, the Philippines, the Ogasawara, Ishigaki Island and the Daitō Islands of Japan, most Caribbean islands, Fiji and many other Pacific islandsAsian common toad (Duttaphrynus melanostictus)Bufotoxin South and Southeast Asia.Peltophryne peltocephalaBufotoxinCubaoak toad (Anaxyrus quercicus)Bufotoxinsoutheastern United States.African common toad, square-marked toad, African toad (Sclerophrys regularis)BufotoxinAngola, Benin, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Cape Verde, Central African Republic, Chad, Republic of the Congo, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ivory Coast, Egypt, Ethiopia, Gabon, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Kenya, Liberia, Mali, Niger, Nigeria, Rwanda, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Sudan, and Uganda.Gulf Coast toad (Incilius valliceps)Bufotoxineastern and southeastern Mexico and Central America as far south as Costa Rica.European green toad (Bufotes viridis)Bufotoxinmainland Europe, ranging from far eastern France and Denmark to the Balkans and Western Russia.
Toxic Salamanders +ImageScientific nameActive agentDistributionTaricha genus Western NewtTetrodotoxinPacific coastal region from southern Alaska to southern California, and MexicoTriturus genus crested and the marbled newtsTetrodotoxin Great Britain through most of continental Europe to westernmost Siberia, Anatolia, and the Caspian Sea regionNotophthalmus genus Tetrodotoxin eastern United States, MexicoSalamandra genussamandarin, samandarone, O-acetylsamandarinesouthern and central EuropeIberian ribbed newt (Pleurodeles waltl) Unknown central and southern Iberian Peninsula and Morocco.
Recreational ingestion of toxins Some people use the bufotoxins of some species of toxic toads as a drug to get high, but this can become very dangerous. Usually due to the toads' size and toxicity, the poisons would not be deadly to a fully grown, healthy adult. But if too much of the toxin is absorbed, or if the person is young or ill, then the poisons can become a serious threat. It also depends on species: some amphibians do have toxins strong enough to kill even a healthy mature person within just a few minutes, while other species may not have toxins potent enough to have any effect. Licking toads is not biologically practical. For these tryptamines to be orally activated, the human monoamine oxidase system must be inhibited. Therefore, licking a poisonous amphibian will not guarantee a sufficient dose.
See also Psychoactive toad Poisonous fish List of poisonous animals Toxic birds Venomous fish Venomous mammals Venomous snakes List of venomous animals
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