Golden poison frog
Phyllobates terribilis Myers, Daly & Malkin, 1978
The golden poison frog (Phyllobates terribilis), also called the golden poison dart frog, is an amphibian in the family Dendrobatidae and the order Anura. It is a terrestrial, diurnal invertivore whose main foods are arthropods.
Quick facts about the golden poison frog
It lays eggs, 15 per clutch, with clutches from 7 to 23 eggs reported, and its development includes a larval stage. Its body length reaches up to 4.32 cm, its lifespan up to 8 years, and the IUCN Red List classes it as Endangered, a threatened category.
- Weight
- Not recorded
- Length
- up to 4.32 cmsrc for Length
- Lifespan
- Not recorded
- Diet
- Invertivoresrc for Diet
- Longest recorded lifespan
- 8 years
- Main food
- arthropodssrc for Main food
- Habitat
- forestsrc for Habitat
- Young per litter or clutch
- 7 – 23src for Young per litter or clutch
- Reproduction
- Eggssrc for Reproduction
- Active
- By day (diurnal)src for Active
- Conservation status
- Endangered (IUCN)src for Conservation status
- Countries on record
- Not recorded
Photos of the golden poison frog
Only freely licensed photos are shown. Each carries its creator and licence.
Where does the golden poison frog live?
Not recorded
What is the golden poison frog?
The golden poison frog (Phyllobates terribilis), also known as the golden dart frog or golden poison arrow frog, is a poison dart frog endemic to the rainforests of Colombia. The golden poison frog has become endangered due to habitat destruction within its naturally limited range. Despite its small size, this frog is considered to be the most poisonous extant animal species on the planet.
From the Wikipedia article “Golden poison frog” (en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Golden_poison_frog&oldid=1381585611), by Wikipedia contributors, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0). This block is kept separate from our own text.
Is the golden poison frog endangered?
The golden poison frog is listed as Endangered on the IUCN Red List: it faces a very high risk of extinction in the wild.
- LCLeast Concern
- NTNear Threatened
- VUVulnerable
- ENEndangered
- CRCritically Endangered
- EWExtinct in the Wild
- EXExtinct
Category via Wikidata (CC0). Find the full assessment on the IUCN Red List. See all Endangered species. What the categories mean.
How is the golden poison frog classified?
- kingdomAnimalia
- phylumChordata
- classAmphibia
- orderAnura
- familyDendrobatidae
- genusPhyllobates
- SpeciesPhyllobates terribilis Myers, Daly & Malkin, 1978
Other names and names in other languages (21)
- Golden poison dart frogEnglish
- pralesnička strašnáCzech
- Gelber BlattsteigerGerman
- Goldener BlattsteigerGerman
- Goldener GiftfroschGerman
- Schrecklicher BlattsteigerGerman
- Schrecklicher GiftfroschGerman
- Schrecklicher PfeilgiftfroschGerman
- Zitronengelber BlattsteigerGerman
- Rana dorada venenosaSpanish
- Kokoï de ColombieFrench
- Phyllobate terribleFrench
- Ra douradaGalician
- rettenetes nyílméregbékaHungarian
- Dendrobate doratoItalian
- モウドクフキヤガエルJapanese
- GullgiftfroskNorwegian Bokmål
- Rã-dourada-venenosaPortuguese
- Ужасный листолазRussian
- zlata grozna listovkaSlovenian
- 金色箭毒蛙Chinese
Relatives of the golden poison frog
Other species in the same genus Phyllobates.
Two-toned poison frog
Phyllobates bicolor
Kokoe poison frog
Phyllobates aurotaenia
Golfodulcean poison frog
Phyllobates vittatus
Lovely poison frog
Phyllobates lugubris
CompareGolden poison frog vs Two-toned poison frogGolden poison frog vs Kokoe poison frogGolden poison frog vs Golfodulcean poison frogGolden poison frog vs Lovely poison frog
Common questions
Each answer is written from the sourced facts on this page, and only where they hold the answer.
What kind of animal is the golden poison frog?
The golden poison frog is an amphibian, a frog in the family Dendrobatidae and the order Anura.
Is the golden poison frog endangered?
Yes. The IUCN Red List classes it as Endangered (EN) in its global assessment, which is a threatened category.
How big is the golden poison frog?
Its body length reaches up to 4.32 cm.
What does the golden poison frog eat?
It is an invertivore, and its main foods are arthropods.
How long does the golden poison frog live?
Its lifespan reaches up to 8 years.
How many eggs does the golden poison frog lay?
It lays 15 eggs per clutch, with clutches from 7 to 23 eggs reported. Its development includes a larval stage.
Who named the golden poison frog?
Phyllobates terribilis was named by Myers, Daly & Malkin, 1978.
Sources and how to cite this page
Data as of 2026-11-11. How this page is put together.
- AmphiBIO, a global database for amphibian ecological traits · CC BY 4.0 · v1
Oliveira, B.F., São-Pedro, V.A., Santos-Barrera, G., Penone, C. & Costa, G.C. (2017) AmphiBIO, a global database for amphibian ecological traits. Scientific Data 4: 170123. https://doi.org/10.1038/sdata.2017.123. Data: https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.4644424.v5 - Catalogue of Life eXtended Release · CC BY 4.0 · 2026-10-16 XR
Catalogue of Life (2026). Catalogue of Life eXtended Release, version 2026-10-16 XR. Catalogue of Life Foundation, Amsterdam, Netherlands. https://doi.org/10.48580/dgzlf - Wikimedia Commons · per file (CC0 / public domain / CC BY green, CC BY-SA amber, anything else not displayed) · 2026-11-11
Wikimedia Commons contributors. Wikimedia Commons. https://commons.wikimedia.org (each file credited to its author under its own licence). - Wikidata · CC0 1.0 · 2026-11-11
Wikidata contributors. Wikidata. https://www.wikidata.org (data retrieved via the Wikidata Query Service). - Wikipedia (English) · CC BY-SA 4.0 · 2026-11-11
Wikipedia contributors. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. https://en.wikipedia.org (text under CC BY-SA 4.0; each block names its article and revision).
Embed a card for this animal on your own site
Copy this code. The card shows the photo with its credit, key facts and a link back to this page.
CreatureData. (2026). Golden poison frog (Phyllobates terribilis). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/phyllobates-terribilis
“Golden poison frog (Phyllobates terribilis).” CreatureData, 2026, https://creaturedata.com/animals/phyllobates-terribilis.
@misc{phyllobates_terribilis_2026,
title = {Golden poison frog (Phyllobates terribilis)},
author = {{CreatureData}},
year = {2026},
url = {https://creaturedata.com/animals/phyllobates-terribilis},
note = {Data as of 2026-11-11}
}