#true toads

European Toad (Bufo bufo)

A rolling frog gathers no moss! When pebble toad feel threatened, they tuck in their limbs and become completely rigid. This usually causes the toad to tumble down the rocky slope of its mountain habitat until it lands somewhere safety away from the predator. Fortunately, because they're so small, this doesn't hurt the toad at all!

this adorable chubby guy is anaxyrus baxteri, common names: Wyoming toad, Baxter’s toad

Habitat: Around the edges of ponds, creeks and lakes. They often use abandoned gopher or ground squirrel burrows as homes!

Found in: the USA

Fun fact(s): Maybe NOT so FUN of a fact, but they are extinct in the wild, and currently only exist in captivity within the Mortenson Lake National Wildlife Refuge in Wyoming, USA - earning them the Wyoming toad common name

Spiny Slender Toad (Ansonia spinulifer)

American Toad (Anaxyrus americanus)

Caring for the Cane Toad

Also known as the giant neotropical toad or marine toad, the cane toad (Rhinella marina) is a large species of toad native to Central and South America. They are most often found near permanent sources of water like lakes, wetlands, and slow-moving rivers, as well as tropical rainforests and open grasslands. R. marina can also be found in human-modified areas, like gardens and farmland. They have a wide range of temperatures which they can tolerate; some populations in North America can tolerate up to 53% of their bodily fluids freezing.

Despite their preference for living near water, cane toads are primarily terrestrial. They feed on a wide range of arthropods, birds, small reptiles, and small mammals-- anything they can fit in their mouths. Prey is mainly identified via movement and smell, as R. marina has poor vision and hunts at primarily night. During the day the marine toad hides under logs or in foliage to avoid predators. The most common threats in its native region include caimans, birds of prey, snakes, eels, large fish, and bullet ants. To deter these predators, the cane toad can emit a milky-white substance known as bufotoxin, which is poisonous to many species. Individuals will also inflate their lungs, puffing up their bodies to appear larger than they really are.

R. marina is easily identified as the largest species in the family Bufonidae, reaching up to 24 cm (9.5 in) long and weighing an average of 106g(3.75 oz). Females are significantly larger than males. On adults, the head and back are covered with large wart-like bumps, and the color ranges from light grey to red to dark brown. Juveniles have smooth skin and are usually darker in color. Because of their terrestrial nature, marine toads lack webbing between their fingers.

The giant neotropical toad is capable of breeding year-round, so long as resources are plentiful. Males congregate in bodies of slow-moving or still freshwater, and call loudly to attract a mate. Depending on the number of males and the size of their breeding ground, males may also fight for dominance. After a female choses a mate (or several), she may lay up to 25,000 eggs in strings up to 20m (65 ft) long. The eggs take only 2-7 days to hatch, but few make it past the tadpole stage, which lasts about a month. Only about 0.5% of cane toads reach adulthood, which takes about a year. Without predators R. marina can live up to 10 years.

Conservation status: The IUCN lists the cane toad as Least Concern, due to their large native population and adaptability. Unfortunately, the cane toad has been introduced in many areas, including Australia, southeast Asia, the Caribbean, and North America, and is considered a highly invasive species.

If you like what I do, consider leaving a tip or buying me a kofi!

Photos

Chris Ison

John Sullivan

Cane toads are the largest species of toad in the world! They typically grow between 10-15 cm long and weigh an average of 1.3 kg. The largest cane toad, which is also the largest toad or frog ever recorded, was nearly 24cm long and weighed 2.6kg-- as much as a 2 litre bottle of soda!