Smooth-sided toad

Smooth-sided toad
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Amphibia
Order: Anura
Family: Bufonidae
Genus: Rhaebo
Species: R. guttatus
Binomial name
Rhaebo guttatus
(Schneider, 1799)
Synonyms
  • Bufo guttatus Schneider, 1799
  • Bufo anderssoni Melin, 1941
  • Rhaebo anderssoni (Melin, 1941)

The smooth-sided toad or spotted toad (Rhaebo guttatus, formerly known as Bufo guttatus) is a species of toad in the family Bufonidae. It is found in the Amazonian Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, and Venezuela, as well as the Guyanas (French Guiana, Guyana, and Suriname). Specimens from southern Peru, Bolivia, and Brazil might represent Rhaebo ecuadorensis described in 2012.[2][3]

Description

Males growth to about 15 cm (5.9 in) snout–vent length;[4][5] females are larger, at least 17.4 cm (6.9 in)[3][4] but possibly up to 25 cm (9.8 in) snout–vent length.[5] The dorsal color is brown to reddish brown. The species has a characteristically prominent preocular ridge that is present even in juveniles.[4]

The smooth sided toad secretes a toxin from a gland behind their eyes known as a bufotoxin, it has been known to cause heart failure in humans if ingested. This toxin is the toad's main line of defense against predators.[6]

Habitat and conservation

Its natural habitats are tropical moist lowland forests, in particular mature gallery forests. If occurs on the ground or in deep leaf-litter on the forest floor. It is locally threatened by habitat loss.[1]

References

  1. 1 2 Claudia Azevedo-Ramos, Enrique La Marca, Marinus Hoogmoed, Steffen Reichle (2010). "Rhaebo guttatus". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. IUCN. 2010: e.T54658A11183165. Retrieved 30 January 2016.
  2. ↑ Frost, Darrel R. (2016). "Rhaebo guttatus (Schneider, 1799)". Amphibian Species of the World: an Online Reference. Version 6.0. American Museum of Natural History. Retrieved 30 January 2016.
  3. 1 2 Coloma, L. A., Mueses-Cisneros J. J. "Rhaebo guttatus". Retrieved 30 January 2016.
  4. 1 2 3 Mueses-Cisneros, J. J., D. F. Cisneros-Heredia, and R. W. McDiarmid (2012). "A new Amazonian species of Rhaebo (Anura: Bufonidae) with comments on Rhaebo glaberrimus (Gunther, 1869) and Rhaebo guttatus (Schneider, 1799)". Zootaxa. 3447: 22–40.
  5. 1 2 "Smooth-Sided Toad". Animal Fact Sheets. Woodland Park Zoo. Retrieved 30 January 2016.
  6. ↑ "Smooth sided toad (Rhaebo guttatus)". Frogs.cc. January 25, 2014. Retrieved 28 July 2015.
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