Background: Poison dart frog (also called the poison arrow frog) is the common name given to the group of frogs belonging to the family Dendrobatidae. These amphibians are native to tropical forests in Central and South America.

Poison dart frogs are characterized by bright colors which serve to warn predators of their toxicity. The frog poison is made up of toxic alkaloids sequestered from their arthropod (mostly mites and ants) prey. The skin secretion of some species is so potent that it is used on the tip of hunting arrows and darts by South American tribes.

There are more than 160 known species of poison dart frogs.

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