water loss, and a low basal metabolic rate which limits evaporation through its lungs. Unlike poison dart frogs which merely secrete poison from their skin, this species is equipped with skull spines capable of injecting venom into other animals, or human hands, via headbutting, a tactic it shares with Aparasphenodon brunoi. The skin secretions contain a number of low-molecular mass steroids and alkaloids. In the laboratory, these produce a powerful nociceptive (painful) effect and cause oedema in mice cells. The secretions also inhibit cell growth in mouse fibroblasts and melanoma cells. In the wild, these provide a useful arsenal of chemical defences against predation. Status This frog has a wide range and is a common species with a large total population. The main threats it faces include habitat loss from livestock grazing and crop cultivation, and the occurrence of wildfires. The International Union for Conservation of Nature has rated its conservation status as being of "least concern", because any decrease in population size is likely to be at too slow a rate to justify classifying it in a more threatened category. References External links Corythomantis Venomous vertebrates Amphibians described in 1896 Amphibians of Brazil Endemic fauna of Brazil Taxonomy articles created by Polbot