Fun Marine Toad Facts For Kids

Are you a fan of wild amphibians If you want to know more about toads then you must check out this article!

Marine toads (or cane toads) are animals in the family Bufonidae. There has been a lot of debate around the cane toad's scientific name.

Initially, the scientific name for the marine toad was Bufo marinus, but now (going by the latest rules as per the binomial and trinomial nomenclature for plants and animals) Rhinella marina is deemed appropriate by all leading scientists and journals and even by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (the IUCN).

Marine toads are also known as cane toads and are generally found in hot and humid tropical forests. They are usually found in South America, and Central America and are also native to Australia.

Like other toads these animals are poisonous, however, their toxins are not fatal for humans. On the contrary small animals like dogs and cats can be harmed by these amphibians.

This species of toads are also sometimes called giant toads, owing to their huge size. Cane toads also serve as pest controllers in areas and where there is a high amount of bugs and insects.

To find out more information about the famous cane toad, why not keep reading this article?

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Marine Toad Interesting Facts

What type of animal is a marine toad?

A marine toad is an animal that can be classified under the category of a toad. Cane toads belong to the Bufonidae family.

What class of animal does a marine toad belong to?

The marine toad or the cane toad, like all other different types of toads, is an animal that belongs to the Amphibian class.

How many marine toads are there in the world?

Since toads are very common animals, the total count of marine toads in the world is in the millions.

Where does a marine toad live?

Marine toads (Rhinella marina) are animals that prefer living in hot and humid climates, and as a result, they are most commonly found in tropical or subtropical areas. When the climate becomes cold, these Marine toads hide in hollow logs or rock creaks to keep their bodies warm.

The cane toad is most commonly found in South America, Central America, most of the United States, Eastern Australia, and Puerto Rico.

What is a marine toad's habitat?

The natural habitat of the cane toad is secondary forests. They also love residing in lowlands and the foothills of mountains.

Who do marine toads live with?

Marine toads are usually solitary animals and prefer living alone. However, during the mating season, cane toads come together in groups to the mating pond, where they compete with one another to mate.

How long does a marine toad live?

In the wild, marine toads can have a lifespan of 10 years or more.

How do they reproduce?

Marine toads are animals that are found in tropical climates and they breed only once every year. The males compete with one another to attract the females and they call their mates with a typical low-pitched trill which continues for 10-20 seconds.

A female can lay between 25,000 eggs to 30,000 eggs in one go. Proper care is taken of these eggs by the cane toad, and the eggs hatch in two to seven days' time.

What is their conservation status?

According to the International Union for Conservation of Nature (the IUCN), marine toads are found in abundance on our planet. Therefore, the conservation status of cane toads is officially classed as Least Concern by the IUCN.

Marine Toad Fun Facts

What do marine toads look like?

All species of marine toads are typically large in size and they have a characteristic U-shaped furrow that is located in between their eyes. The giant marine toad usually has olive-brown skin with numerous dark spots on it.

These toads also have large parotid glands on their back from which they can impart poisonous toxins on their prey and predators. Similar to other toads of the same genus they also have horizontal pupils. The skin of adult cane toads is very dry, whilst juvenile cane toads have smooth skin.

How cute are they?

Most people probably wouldn't call a cane toad cute. On the contrary, they are often considered to be ugly.

Their dry, patchy dorsal skin with dark spots and warts and poisonous parotid glands give the cane toad an image that is far from cute.

In fact, they are often seen mainly as dangerous! Since the diet of a cane toad involves smaller insects, these cane toads help the environment as they eat pests, so they can be considered cute by scientists who love the role that they play in their habitats.

How do they communicate?

Species of toads usually communicate with one another via vocalization. During the mating season, the male travels near water bodies and produces a low-pitched trill which serves as a mating call and attracts females. The sounds made by toads vary from individual to individual and one call is often followed by another successive call.

How big is a marine toad?

Marine toads are usually large in size. The sizes of these toads range from 4-6 in or (10-15 cm) approximately.

How fast can a marine toad swim?

All species of toads are excellent swimmers, but the marine toad species doesn't actually spend too much time in the water. Despite this, they usually mate in water. When swimming in the water, marine toads use breaststroke motions.

They pull their hind legs towards their body and then propel themselves forward, moving in straight lines. They often swim in the water when they are trying to prey on smaller insects. However, the speed of swimming for marine toads is currently unavailable due to a lack of data.

How much does a marine toad weigh?

Marine toads are pretty heavy in comparison to other toads due to their significantly larger size in comparison with other animals of the same family. Marine toads eat a lot of insects, and not only that but their diet consists of pests and plant parts and thus they can grow to be huge in size.

As a result, cane toads weigh around 2 lb (907.18 g) on average. However larger toads will weigh even more.

What are their male and female names of the species?

There are no specific male or female names for marine toads.

What would you call a baby marine toad?

Young marine toads hatch from eggs and they are either called tadpoles or more accurately 'toadlets'. Have you ever seen marine toad eggs or baby marine toads?

What do they eat?

All species of marine toads are nocturnal animals and thus they hunt and eat at night time. This amphibian species loves preying on smaller animals and insects like ants, beetles, grasshoppers, and other plant matter as part of their diet.

Are they poisonous?

Yes, all species of marine toads are poisonous, but not to humans. Their toxins can become extremely dangerous, and sometimes even fatal, for smaller-sized animals like dogs and cats.

This poison is present as a part of a self-defense mechanism against danger and predators, and, whilst it might not be fatal to humans, it is advised to stay away from these poisonous animals.

Would they make a good pet?

Yes, marine toads can actually be excellent pets if they are taken care of properly. It is advised to keep them in aquariums or tanks where they will have enough space to move around freely.

If proper marine toad care is taken, they can be tamed relatively easily and wouldn't release their poison or toxins. However, keeping them as pets requires patience and a lot of maintenance so to create an artificial habitat for them so the decision to get a pet cane toad should not be taken lightly.

Did you know...

Marine toads, unlike other amphibians like frogs, have very textured skin. Also, in this particular species, female marine toads tend to be larger than male marine toads.

Marine toads (or cane toads) were first introduced by scientists to control the population of sugar cane beetles. As well as sugar cane beetles, marine toads can quickly disrupt the balance of a habitat and are therefore often introduced in places that have a significantly higher number of pests.

The marine toad and leopard toad are pretty alike as both animals have a similar lifespan, live in and around water, prey by movement on small insects, and therefore have similar diets. They also both belong to the Bufonidae family, thereby making them fairly similar.

Are marine toads poisonous?

The entire skin of a marine toad species or a giant toad species is extremely poisonous to small animals, including its parotid glands. When this animal feels threatened it releases toxins and poison from the skin which can cause death for smaller animals like dogs which lick them.

Whilst generally there is no risk posed to humans by the poison of marine toads, humans can die from the toxicity of a marine toad if they eat the animal's flesh!

What are some other names for a marine toad?

Marine toads are a special animal as they are known by quite a few other names! The animal is often referred to as the giant neotropical toad, or a giant toad owing to its gigantic size.

The most common name of this toad giant is the cane toad. We have also previously mentioned the debate around the scientific name of the marine toad. Bufo marinus was the first scientific name for the marine toad, but now it is agreed that their scientific name is Rhinella marina.

Here at Kidadl, we have carefully created lots of interesting family-friendly animal facts for everyone to discover! You can even occupy yourself at home by drawing one on our Marine toad coloring pages.

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