Dangerous: The Oophaga pumilio frogA poisonous frog gets its venom from eating insects, research suggests. The Oophaga pumilio frog – found in Nicaragua, Costa Rica and Panama in Central America – carries enough poison to kill ten people. It secretes this through its skin as a defence mechanism and even handling one is potentially lethal. Scientists studying the frog found it stored chemicals from mites, which it eats as prey, for defence against bigger predators. The Oophaga's poison is deadlier than a snake's or spider's. Researchers who collected insect samples from the Oophaga's habitat found the mites had the same poisonous alkaloids in their skin as the frogs. John Daly, of the National Institutes of Health in Maryland in the US, said: 'The frogs must have some system that latches on to these poisonous compounds and stores them in their skin.' Mr Daly said the findings explained why the frog lost its toxic shield when removed from its natural habitat. Ralph Saporito, of Florida International University in Miami, who helped with the research, said the mites themselves were harmless. 'I thought it would be a good idea to pop a few in my mouth,' he added, 'but they don't taste of anything.'
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