You Are What You Eat

Part of the Frogs: A Chorus of Colors exhibition.

brazil_nut_poison_med.jpg

 © Taran Grant/AMNH

Brazil nut poison frog: Adelphobates castaneoticus (formerly Dendrobates castaneoticus) These black and orange frogs from Brazil are so named because they often place their tadpoles in the hollow shells of Brazil nuts.

Their bright colors advertise danger, but the poison dart frogs on display in this exhibition are not actually poisonous. In the wild these frogs get their toxins from their food, but their diet in captivity is toxin-free—so these particular frogs are harmless.