Abstract
Poison frogs of the neotropical family Dendrobatidae contain a wide variety of lipophilic alkaloids, which are accumulated from alkaloid-containing arthropods. A small millipede, Rhinotus purpureus (Siphonotidae), occurs microsympatrically with the dendrobatid frog Dendrobates pumilio on Isla Bastimentos, Bocas del Toro Province, Panamá. Methanol extracts of this millipede contain the spiropyrrolizidine O-methyloxime 236, an alkaloid previously known only from skin extracts of poison frogs, including populations of D. pumilio. Thus, R. purpureus represents a likely dietary source of such alkaloids in dendrobatid frogs.
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Saporito, R.A., Donnelly, M.A., Hoffman, R.L. et al. A Siphonotid Millipede (Rhinotus) as the Source of Spiropyrrolizidine Oximes of Dendrobatid Frogs. J Chem Ecol 29, 2781–2786 (2003). https://doi.org/10.1023/B:JOEC.0000008065.28364.a0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1023/B:JOEC.0000008065.28364.a0