ANIMAL:Cane Toad/Marine Toad Rhinella marina
Type of Animal:
Toad
Habitat:
Grasslands, gardens, drainage ditches, woodlands, forests/forest margins, mangroves, sand dunes, moist crevices/hollows, urban/suburban areas, agricultural areas, standing water, canals/vegetated edges, ditches/vegetated edges, streams, ponds/vegetated edges, yards, around buildings, coastal heath, open clearings, near human habitations, floodplains, vegetated edges of lakes, cleared areas, villages, disturbed/degraded habitat, fields close to water, semiarid areas
Location(s):
Native to S Texas, Mexico, C America, N South America, Trinidad, & Tobago. Introduced to N & E Australia (possibly spreading to W Australian coast), S New Guinea, Caribbean Islands, Florida, Philippines, Fiji/other Pacific islands, parts of S Texas, Louisiana, Hawaii, Bermuda, Mauritius, Taiwan, & Ogasawara, Ishigaki, & Daito Islands of Japan.
Appearance:
Largest toad in world, females larger than males, color can be gray, yellowish, red-brown, olive-brown, or mix of these colors, very dry warty skin, creamy ventral surface, distinct ridges above eyes, juveniles have smoother dark skin & lack large parotid glands of adults, tadpoles small & black, fleshy webbed toes, large heads
Food/Diet:
Adults/toadlets eat insects, insect larvae, worms, reptiles, amphibians (including smaller members of own species), small mammals (even newborn kittens & newborn puppies), pet food, garbage, human scraps, carrion, spiders, snails, crayfish, birds, animal poop, cigarette butts, plant matter/vegetation (especially aquatic), production animal feed, waste vegetable matter. Tadpoles eat algae & aquatic plants.
Status in Wild:
Stable
Conservation:
Not applicable
Lifestyle:
Solitary or groups ranging from 3-400 toads. Tadpoles & toadlets found in groups of their own, also quite large.
Additional Info:Called:
Male
Female
Young: Tadpole/Toadlet
Group: Knot
Weight:
Male: 2.9-3 lbs
Female: 3-4.4 lbs
Gestation:
3 daysLife Span:
10-15 years
Body Length:
Male: 3.35-5.9 in
Female: 5.9-8.86 in
Tadpole: 1.3 in
Toadlet: 1.57 in
Tail Length:
Tadpole: 1.625-1.95 in
Main predators of adults are crocodilians, saw-shelled turtles, monitor lizards, snakes (smaller species sometimes eaten by toads), predatory birds, predatory fish, opossums, dogs, cats, rats (in fights to death-water rats have more success in taking them), large spiders (in fights to death), bullet ants (though toads eat them as well), & meat ants (though toads may eat them sometimes). Freshwater crayfish, diving/water beetles, dragonfly larvae/nymphs, mosquitoes, rock flagtail, & catfish eat tadpoles. Crayfish, adult toads, & large frogs eat toadlets.
Fun Fact(s):
Highly invasive in areas where introduced since they eat native wildlife, are poisonous throughout life cycle (many animals that eat them can die-some animals resistant to poison), compete w/ native wildlife, & are prolific breeders (females typically breed twice a year & each clutch of eggs can number from 8,000-35,000 eggs).
Originally introduced to Australia from Hawaii in 1935 to eat invasive cane beetles wreaking havoc on sugarcane-toads successfully preyed on beetles as well as becoming pests themselves.
