1. Desert Toad (Incilius alvarius)
Habitat: Sonoran Desert, southwestern United States, and northern Mexico
The Sonoran Desert Toad, also known as the Colorado River Toad, is one of the largest toads in North America. It secretes an enzyme that converts bufotenine, a compound found in many other toad species, into 5-MeO-DMT, a potent hallucinogenic compound closely related to the psychoactive substance DMT. The Sonoran Desert Toad releases a toxic secretion containing 5-MeO-DMT from glands located behind each eye and on its legs. When predators ingest large quantities of this secretion, it can induce nausea, cardiac arrest, and even death. Scientists are still unsure why the Sonoran Desert Toad produces 5-MeO-DMT. They are the only species of toad known to produce this compound.
2. Giant Monkey Frog (Phyllomedusa bicolor)
Habitat: Amazon basin in South America
Researchers have not reached a consensus on whether kambô, the toxic substance secreted by the Giant Monkey Frog, can be considered a hallucinogen. In indigenous tribes in the southwestern Amazon, the secretion from the frog’s skin has been used as a stimulant in rituals by shamans for many centuries. This substance is also often applied to small and superficial burns on the body to increase endurance for hunters.
When animals attempt to prey on the frog, kambô can induce vomiting, convulsions, and changes in heart function. Researchers are still working to decipher the effects of this unique compound, but they know that the Giant Monkey Frog produces over 200 short protein sequences that can affect bodily functions. Some of these have significant potential for future medicinal use.
3. California Harvester Ant (Pogonomyrmex californicus)
Habitat: Southwestern United States and northern Mexico.
The venom of the California harvester ant is composed of enzymes. Indigenous people in central California once consumed them as part of their religious ceremonies. They would swallow hundreds of live ants rolled into balls with bald eagle down. Naturally, they would be stung from the inside. Justin Schmidt, an entomologist at the Southwestern Research Station and the University of Arizona, Tucson, states that the pain from multiple ant stings, combined with extreme weather, fasting, and sleep deprivation in some cases, can induce hallucinations in humans.
The venom of a single harvester ant is potent enough to kill a mouse. A person could die from eating 1,000 ants. However, some animals like the horned lizard (Phrynosoma solare) have a sticky secretion in their mouth and digestive system that allows them to consume hundreds of ants. Compounds in their blood can neutralize the venom.
4. Salema porgy or Dreamfish (Sarpa salpa)
Habitat: Coastal waters of temperate and tropical regions from the shores of the Atlantic Ocean in Africa to the Mediterranean Sea.
The Salema porgy can cause hallucinations of images and sounds when consumed, although cases of intoxication are very rare. Two cases of hallucinogenic fish poisoning were reported in 2006 in the journal Clinical Toxicology. In one case, a man consumed grilled Salema porgy and experienced hallucinations of screaming animals and giant arthropods circling his car. Symptoms disappeared approximately 36 hours after the patient consumed the fish. Researchers still do not know the compound responsible for the intoxication. Evolutionary biologist Leo Smith at the University of Kansas, Lawrence, who studies the history and diversification of fish, said he and other scientists suspect that the compound is a byproduct of the fish’s diet.
