--- title: "Golden Poison Frog (Phyllobates terribilis) | AnimalTracks.wiki" description: "Considered the most poisonous animal in the world: a frog no larger than a bottle cap that produces enough nerve toxin at once to kill 10 people." image: "https://animaltracks.wiki/images/animals/golden-poison-frog-1.webp" published: "2026-08-31" updated: "2026-09-14" --- # Golden Poison Frog (*Phyllobates terribilis*) > **Status**: Checked against 8 sources, listed under Sources below. > **Tagline**: Considered the most poisonous animal in the world: a frog no larger than a bottle cap that produces enough nerve toxin at once to kill 10 people. > **Soundtrack Vibe**: Psy-Trance // Infected Mushroom, "Becoming Insane" > **Soundtrack Links**: [Spotify](https://open.spotify.com/track/22DnBQIIXFPJNRGuNjWlSg) | [YouTube](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wVwQYSVNJVM) > **Vibe Match**: Hyper-speed rolling basslines and hallucinogenic acid squelches for a skin poison, batrachotoxin, that keeps the sodium channels of nerve and muscle cells open and depolarizes them irreversibly. ## Biological Superpowers & Stats - **Taxonomy**: *Phyllobates terribilis* - **Danger Level**: Deadly - **Conservation Status**: Endangered ([IUCN Red List](https://doi.org/10.2305/iucn.uk.2017-3.rlts.t55264a85887889.en)) - **Superpower**: Secretes batrachotoxin and is the most toxic of all frog species; the poison of a single frog could kill up to ten people. - **Habitat**: Hot, very humid lowland rainforest on Colombia's Pacific coast, in under five small areas within 1,475 square kilometres - **Diet**: Mostly ants, plus termites and small beetles, hunted by day on the forest floor - **Tags**: amphibian, rainforest, toxic-chemical, aposematic ## Natural History & Behavior ## Small Frog, Enormous Poison The golden poison frog (*Phyllobates terribilis*) is no larger than a bottle cap, yet it is considered the most poisonous animal in the world. Large females reach 4.7 cm long and males 4.5 cm, and both weigh less than an ounce. Their life expectancy in a terrarium is 8 to 15 years. Its skin holds remarkably high amounts of batrachotoxin, one of the strongest toxins in the animal kingdom. The poison of a single frog could kill up to ten people, and the Smithsonian's National Zoo calls it the most toxic of all frog species. Batrachotoxin acts on the sodium channels of nerve and muscle cells: it keeps the channels open and depolarizes the cells irreversibly, which may lead to arrhythmias, fibrillation and eventually cardiac failure. ## A Tiny Corner of Colombia Golden poison frogs live in a tiny plot of rainforest on Colombia's Pacific coast: under five small areas of the Cauca department. It is hot, very humid, hilly lowland forest, 30 to 400 metres above sea level, with around 4,000 mm of rain a year, and the known sites lie within an area of only 1,475 square kilometres. Active by day, the frogs live in the leaf litter on the forest floor, hunting mostly ants, along with termites and small beetles. ## Poison From Food The frogs cannot make batrachotoxin on their own. They take in the toxin or its building blocks with the food they eat in the wild, though exactly how is not yet clear. One study has suggested that beetles of the family Melyridae in Colombian rainforests could be the source of the batrachotoxin in the *Phyllobates* frogs there. > **Captivity fades the poison.** Without that food in a terrarium, wild-caught frogs gradually lose their toxicity over months, and captive-bred frogs are generally non-toxic to humans. Yet in one study, frogs kept in captivity for up to 6 years were still at least five times more toxic than other *Phyllobates* species used to poison blowgun darts, and frogs bred and raised to adulthood in captivity had no detectable batrachotoxin. ## Darts and Deforestation The indigenous Emberá people of Colombia have used the frog's poison for centuries to tip their blowgun darts when hunting, a traditional method now rarely practised. The IUCN lists the golden poison frog as Endangered, and its populations continue to decline. The main threat is the ongoing destruction of its rainforest through deforestation for agriculture, the spread of human settlements and mining. Herbicide pollution from cereal crops grown in its habitat is a threat too. ## Frequently Asked Questions ### How much poison does a single golden poison frog carry? The poison of a single golden poison frog (Phyllobates terribilis) could kill up to ten people. Its batrachotoxin is one of the strongest toxins in the animal kingdom. *(Source: [Citizen Conservation 2024]())* ### Why aren't captive-bred golden poison frogs toxic? Golden poison frogs cannot make batrachotoxin on their own: they take in the toxin or its building blocks with the food they eat in the wild. That food is not available in a terrarium, where wild-caught frogs gradually lose their toxicity over months and captive-bred frogs are generally non-toxic to humans. *(Source: [Citizen Conservation 2024]())* ### How did indigenous hunters use the frog's poison? The Choco people of western Colombia used waxy leaves to pick up golden poison frogs and dipped their blow darts in the frogs' skin secretions. A single frog can supply enough poison for 30 to 50 darts, and the dart's poison remains active for up to a year. *(Source: [San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance]())* ## Sources 1. [Basic information and care recommendations for Phyllobates terribilis, Golden Poison Frog. Citizen Conservation, 2024.]() 2. [Golden Poison Frog. National Geographic.]() 3. [Poison Frog. San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance.]() 4. [Phyllobates terribilis. Animal Diversity Web, University of Michigan.]() 5. [Poison frogs. Smithsonian's National Zoo and Conservation Biology Institute.]() 6. [Phyllobates terribilis. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2017: e.T55264A85887889.]() 7. [Daly et al. (1980). Levels of Batrachotoxin and Lack of Sensitivity to Its Action in Poison-Dart Frogs (Phyllobates). Science.]() 8. [Dumbacher et al. (2004). Melyrid beetles (Choresine): A putative source for the batrachotoxin alkaloids found in poison-dart frogs and toxic passerine birds. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.]() *Published August 31, 2026. 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