Everyday Biophilia

The planet is home to a great many attractive amphibians, but one of the very prettiest is the Panamanian golden frog  ( Atelopus zeteki ). These tiny frogs (in point of fact, they are true toads of the family Bufonidae) were once common along the high country streams of Panama. They are 2 to 2 ½ inches long and weigh less than an ounce. Most could sit comfortably on a silver dollar. Males and females share similar coloring; yellow backs with unique patterns of black blotches, and uniformly yellow bellies. As is common among tropical and subtropical reptiles and amphibians, the golden frog’s bright coloration is a signal to would-be predators that the frogs are poisonous, and therefore a really bad snack option. The golden frog secretes through its skin a poison all its own, a toxic nerve agent called “zetekitoxin.” The nerve agent is poisonous to humans but it would take a great many golden frogs to secrete enough of it to do one of us any serious harm. They prefer habitats a...