The Moche people of ancient Peru worshipped animals

Exudations from the skin of the golden poison frog (Phyllobates terribilis) are traditionally used by native Colombians to poison the darts they use for hunting. The tip of the projectile is rubbed over the back of the frog and the dart is launched from a blowgun. The combination of the two alkaloid toxins batrachotoxin and homobatrachotoxin is so powerful, one frog contains enough poison to kill an estimated 22,000 mice.[187] Two other species, the Kokoe poison dart frog (Phyllobates aurotaenia) and the black-legged dart frog (Phyllobates bicolor) are also used for this purpose. These are less toxic and less abundant than the golden poison frog. They are impaled on pointed sticks and may be heated over a fire to maximise the quantity of poison that can be transferred to the dart
Frogs feature prominently in folklore, fairy tales, and popular culture. They tend to be portrayed as benign, ugly, and clumsy, but with hidden talents. Examples include Michigan J. Frog, "The Frog Prince", and Kermit the Frog. The Warner Brothers cartoon One Froggy Evening features Michigan J. Frog, that will only dance and sing for the demolition worker who opens his time capsule, but will not perform in public.[188] "The Frog Prince" is a fairy tale about a frog that turns into a handsome prince after he has rescued a princess's golden ball and she has taken him into her palace.[189] Kermit the Frog is a conscientious and disciplined character from The Muppet Show and Sesame Street; while openly friendly and greatly talented, he is often portrayed as cringing at the fanciful behavior of more flamboyant characters.[190]

Toads have a more sinister reputation. It was believed in European folklore that they were associated with witches as their familiar spirits and had magical powers. The toxic secretions from their skin was used in brewing evil potions, but was also put to use to create magical cures for human and livestock ailments. They were associated with the devil; in John Milton's Paradise Lost, Satan was depicted as a toad pouring poison into Eve's ear.[191]

The Moche people of ancient Peru worshipped animals, and often depicted frogs in their art.[192] In Panama, local legend held that good fortune would come to anyone who spotted a Panamanian golden frog. Some believed when one of these frogs died, it would turn into a golden talisman known as a huaca. Today, despite being extinct in the wild, Panamanian golden frogs remain an important cultural symbol and can be found on decorative cloth molas made by the Kuna people. They also appear as part of the inlaid design on a new overpass in Panama City, on T-shirts, and even on lottery tickets