What is the name of the most toxic poison dart frog?

The most toxic poison dart frog is the golden poison frog.

The golden poison frog, Phyllobates terribilis, is a small Colombian rainforest species and is widely regarded as the most poisonous living frog. Its skin contains batrachotoxin, a powerful alkaloid that disrupts sodium channels in nerve and muscle cells. In sufficient quantities, the toxin can cause paralysis, heart failure, and death.

The frog is endemic to humid Pacific-coast forests in Colombia, especially the Chocó region. Its vivid yellow, orange, or green coloration is aposematic: a warning signal advertising that predators should stay away. Indigenous Emberá communities traditionally used its skin secretions to poison hunting darts, which explains the broader “poison dart frog” name.

A crucial common misconception is that every golden poison frog is equally toxic. Wild frogs acquire or accumulate their toxins through their natural diet, probably involving specialized arthropods such as melyrid beetles. Captive-bred frogs raised on ordinary feeder insects generally lose their toxicity. The species was formally described in 1978 and is threatened by its very restricted habitat.