Poison dart frog in the context of "Bertha Lutz"

The wildlife of Brazil comprises all naturally occurring animals, plants, and fungi in Brazil, which is the most biodiverse country in the world. Home to 60% of the Amazon rainforest, which accounts for approximately one-tenth of all species in the world, Brazil has the greatest biodiversity of any country on the planet. It has the most known species of plants (60,000), freshwater fish (3,000), amphibians (1,188), snakes (430), insects (90,000) and mammals (775). Brazil is also the country with the most native species of eatable fruits (over 300).It also ranks third on the list of countries with the most bird species (1,971) and the third with the most reptile species (848). The number of fungal species is unknown (+3,300 species). Approximately two-thirds of all species worldwide are found in tropical areas, often coinciding with developing countries such as Brazil. Brazil is second only to Indonesia as the country with the most endemic species.

Müllerian mimicry is a type of biological mimicry in which two or more well-defended species, often foul-tasting and sharing common predators, converge in appearance to mimic each other's honest warning signals. This convergence of appearance achieves the following benefit to species that undergo it: predators need only experience a single unpleasant encounter with any member of a set of Müllerian mimics in order to thereafter avoid all creatures of similar appearance, whether or not it is the same species as the initial encounter. A ring of distinct species is thereby protected from their mutual predators by attempted predation upon any one of its members. The phenomenon is named after the German-Brazilian naturalist Fritz Müller, who proposed the concept in 1878, supporting his theory with a mathematical model of frequency-dependent selection, one of the first such models anywhere in biology.

Müllerian mimicry was first identified in tropical butterflies that shared colourful wing patterns, but it is found in many groups of insects such as bumblebees, as well as in other animals such as poison frogs and coral snakes. The mimicry need not be restricted to that detected by vision—many snakes share auditory warning signals. Similarly, the defences involved are not limited to toxicity—anything that tends to deter predators, such as foul taste, sharp spines, or defensive behaviour can make a species unprofitable enough to predators to allow Müllerian mimicry to develop.

The yellow-banded poison dart frog (Dendrobates leucomelas), also known as yellow-headed poison dart frog or bumblebee poison frog, is a poison dart frog from the genus Dendrobates of the family Dendrobatidae.

Arrow poisons are used to poison arrow heads or darts for the purposes of hunting and warfare. They have been used by indigenous peoples worldwide and are still in use in areas of South America, Africa and Asia. Notable examples are the poisons secreted from the skin of the poison dart frog, and curare (or 'ampi'), a general term for a range of plant-derived arrow poisons used by the indigenous peoples of South America.

Müllerian mimicry is a type of biological mimicry in which two or more well-defended species, often foul-tasting and sharing common predators, converge in appearance to mimic each other's honest warning signals. This convergence of appearance achieves the following benefit to species that undergo it: predators need only experience a single unpleasant encounter with any member of a set of Müllerian mimics in order to thereafter avoid all creatures of similar appearance, whether or not it is the same species as the initial encounter. A ring of distinct species is thereby protected from their mutual predators by attempted predation upon any one of its members. The phenomenon is named after the German-Brazilian naturalist Fritz Müller, who proposed the concept in 1878, supporting his theory with a mathematical model of frequency-dependent selection, one of the first such models to be deployed in biology.

Müllerian mimicry was first identified in tropical butterflies that shared colourful wing patterns, but it is found in many groups of insects such as bumblebees, as well as in other animals such as poison frogs and coral snakes. The mimicry need not be restricted to that detected by vision—many snakes share auditory warning signals. Similarly, the defences involved are not limited to toxicity—anything that tends to deter predators, such as foul taste, sharp spines, or defensive behaviour can make a species unprofitable enough to predators to allow Müllerian mimicry to develop.