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This teeny salamander was discovered in Costa Rican cloud forests. The salamander's eye-catching coloration pattern resembles the warning markings of a deadly poison-dart frog in Central America. |
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With bright colors like a clown, this fish is orange with three white bars across its body. The bright coloring is warning coloration and lets predators know that they will be harmed if they try to eat it. The anemone clownfish carries stinging cells on its skin. |
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The bright colors of this Yellow-Winged Darter dragonfly serve as a warning to predators of its noxious taste. |
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Rattlesnakes are characterized by the retention of dried skin segments at the end of the tail which give them their ominous rattle, warning predators not to come near them. The bites of these snakes cause severe local inflammation with much tissue destruction. |
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Tiger moths are part of a family of moths that retain poisonous chemicals from the plants they feed off of. A bitter taste arises from them when attacked by a predator. |
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The robber fly mimics the bumblebee in order to keeps it's predators from attacking it. It even makes close to the same sound a bumblebee makes. It can be very hard for a predator, or a person, to tell the difference between the fly and the bee. |
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Poison Dart Frogs come in all different, bright colors that warn their predators that they aren't the best choice for dinner. These frogs, native to Colombia in South America, are highly toxic, but contain less batrachotoxin than the similar Golden Poison Frog. Batrachotoxin is a steroidal alkaloid secreted from skin glands and is deadly to other small animals. It blocks neuromuscular transmission, resulting in muscle and respiratory paralysis and death. |
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The Golden Posion Frog is currently considered the most poisonous vertebrate worldwide. The frog's poison prevents nerves from transmitting impulses, leaving muscles in an inactive state of contraction. This can lead to heart failure or fibrillation. The bright, yellow color of the frog warns enemies of it's poisonous state and warns them not to get close. |
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The Black Widow Spider are small spiders with very poisonous venom. Although the venom is rarely fatal to humans, it is more than often fatal to predators. Black Widow females have an bright red hourglass or like shape on their abdomen which warns predators to leave them alone. |
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Most birds and animals don't want to eat bird droppings. This spider, known as the Bird-Dropping Spider or an Orchard Spider, sits on a leaf motionless all day and becomes active at night. During the day, while it is resting, it puts it's legs underneath it's body. |
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The Wild Ones: Camouflage & Mimicry
Rainforest Mimicry & Camouflage
Animal Web
Warning Coloration, Camouflage, and Mimicry
Page One: An Animal's OffensePage Two: An Animal's Defense