Where can a cane toad frog be found today?
Answers
cane toad (Rhinella marina), also known as the giant neotropical toad or marine toad, is a large, terrestrial true toad native to South and mainland Central America, but which has been introduced to various islands throughout Oceania and the Caribbean, as well as Northern Australia. It is the world's largest toad. It is a member of the genus Rhinella, but was formerly assigned to the genus Bufo, which includes many true toad species found throughout Central and South America. The cane toad is a prolific breeder; females lay single-clump spawns with thousands of eggs. Its reproductive success is partly because of opportunistic feeding: it has a diet, unusual among anurans, of both dead and living matter. Adults average 10–15 cm (3.9–5.9 in) in length; the largest recorded specimen had a snout-vent length of 24 cm (9.4 in).
Cane toad
Canetoadmale.jpg
Adult male
Canetoadfemale.jpg
Adult female
Conservation status
Least Concern (IUCN 3.1)
Scientific classification edit
Kingdom:
Animalia
Phylum:
Chordata
Class:
Amphibia
Order:
Anura
Family:
Bufonidae
Genus:
Rhinella
Species:
R. marina
Binomial name
Rhinella marina
(Linnaeus, 1758)
Bufo marinus distribution.png
Distribution of the cane toad, native distribution in blue, introduced in red
Synonyms
Rana marina Linnaeus, 1758
Bufo marinus Schneider, 1799
Rhinella marinus
Chaunus marinu
The cane toad is an old species. A fossil toad (specimen UCMP 41159) from the La Venta fauna of the late Miocene of Colombia is indistinguishable from modern cane toads from northern South America.[6] It was discovered in a floodplain deposit, which suggests the R. marina habitat preferences have long been for open areas.
The cane toad has poison glands, and the tadpoles are highly toxic to most animals if ingested. Its toxic skin can kill many animals, both wild and domesticated, and cane toads are particularly dangerous to dogs.[8] Because of its voracious appetite, the cane toad has been introduced to many regions of the Pacific and the Caribbean islands as a method of agricultural pest control. The species derives its common name from its use against the cane beetle (Dermolepida albohirtum). The cane toad is now considered a pest and an invasive species in many of its introduced regions. The 1988 film "Cane Toads: An Unnatural History", is still a top ten bestseller in Australia, documenting the trials and tribulations of the introduction of cane toads in Australia.