You are most certainly all familiar with the terms of frogs and toads. However, do you know how to differentiate them🤔? And did you know that toads are in fact just a special kind of frogs🐸? Let’s have a look into this before introducing another amazing species. Toads belong to the Bufonidae family, a group of species generally characterized by a rougher skin and a more plumping body🤓. If this contrasts with the smoother skin and longer legs generally encountered in frogs🦵, in the tree of life, however, toads (Bufonidae) are only a branch embedded and surrounded by many other frog families😯. So toads are just some frogs that look a bit different due to a more advanced terrestrialization in their lifestyle, or if you prefer, which have gained specific ecological adaptations to life on land🌳. Such differences can also be observed in their response to danger⚠️. While frogs will easily jump long distances to quickly reach water😎, toads will only hop short distances or walk to escape from potential threats😬… which may appear not so efficient👀.
In such cases, how is it possible for toads to protect themselves from predators 🐍🦝if they cannot escape quickly🏃♂️💨? Le’ts have a look at our star species of the day to find some answers🤩!
First, let’s introduce the Colorado River Toad, 𝘐𝘯𝘤𝘪𝘭𝘪𝘶𝘴 𝘢𝘭𝘷𝘢𝘳𝘪𝘶𝘴 (Girard, 1859), also referred sometimes as the Sonoran Desert toad🏝️. The two different vernacular names emerged as this species is found in the lower Colorado River and also in some areas in the SouthEast United States and in northern Mexican states, including the state of Sonora🏞️🏜️. This species can reach a size of nearly 20 cm long which makes it the largest native toad in North America😮. The Colorado River toad thrives😴in desert and semi-arid regions and is commonly found around permanent springs, reservoirs, and streams💦. They mate during the rainy season🌧️ in summer from May to July as the rain available at that time of year will provide them with the temporary pools necessary to lay their eggs💧. A single female can lay up to 8000 eggs in a single strand, and yellow-brown tadpoles would hatch within 2-12 days🚼🥳. Better have a quick development in those regions where water ponds can be ephemeral⏳!
Even more astonishing is the ability of these toads to produce a poison that provides a survival advantage🧪. As toads have limited mobility to escape predators😥, the valuable poison is serving as the main defense system of the Colorado River toads🛡️. The poison is secreted primarily in their parotid glands, two little capsule-like features next to their eyes💊. These two parotid glands can secrete a sticky white poison that is poisonous enough to paralyze or kill the predators😖. The predator of the Colorado River toads can be intoxicated through their mouth, nose, or eyes when in contact with the secretion👄👃👀. You may wonder how strong the poison is💀? Well, observations of dogs picking up the toad in their mouth have resulted in a fatal encounter for the curious mammal😵. The poisonous secretion from the toads can thus be dangerous, and it is important to be very careful when manipulating them⛔️, and never kiss or lick one of them as a challenge😗👅 (yes, some did it) or use them for potential psychedelic effects 😵💫without proper medical supervision👨⚕️👩⚕️.
Obviously, no chance to find the Colorado River toad in Hong Kong☹️, but join us and have a look at them in our museum - it is completely safe😌! Come and explore the Hong Kong Biodiversity Museum's collection of frog and toad specimens to learn more about these fascinating creatures and other thousand more species from around the world🌏😉.
Text: Kiko Wong
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