Batrachotoxin

/ˌbætrəkoʊˈtɑksɪn/ noun

Definition

A deadly neurotoxin found in the skin of certain poison dart frogs and birds, one of the most potent non-protein toxins known.

Etymology

From Greek 'batrachos' (frog) + 'toxin' (poison). Discovered in the 1960s when scientists realized some New Guinea birds were toxic like the frogs.

Kelly Says

The poison dart frog's toxin is so powerful that a single frog contains enough poison to kill 20 adult humans—and scientists still don't fully understand how the frog protects itself from its own venom!

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