Utah State University professor, Edmund Brodie, is among a team of scientists who recently discovered that at least two species of frogs are venomous.
Corthythomantisgreeningi and Aparasphenodonbrunoi are both found in Brazil and are the only frogs known to be venomous.
“To this point, no one had considered that a frog could be venomous, specifically able to transmit toxin into another animal with a spine or something of that nature,” Brodie said. “Now all of a sudden we are seeing something that is completely different and unknown among amphibians.”
Brodie began his research after his colleague was jabbed by one of the frogs and was left in excruciating pain for over five hours. After researching the toxicity of the venom, he discovered that both frog species are more toxic by weight than the deadly Brazilian pit viper.
“There are enlarged and concentrated glands on the nose region and the spines are on the skull and stick out into the upper lip,” Brodie said. “So when you look at these frogs you don’t see any spines but if you grab these frogs, they turn their head and jab you.”
Brodie plans to continue his research on a number of frogs that he believes may also be venomous.
“This has been an enormous amount of fun, working with my colleagues in Brazil on this project,” Brodie said. “Excitement doesn’t describe how we felt when we found this.”