Post by AussieSurvival on Sept 20, 2008 10:41:25 GMT 9.5
Cane Toad ( Bufo marinus )
Description
Cane Toads are large, stout amphibians with a dry and warty skin. Grey and olive brown above with pale belly with dark, irregular spots. The males make a low-pitched whirring sound when calling.
Cane toads have venomous glands, and can poison predators which attack them. This has caused a decline in numbers of numerous Australian snakes and mammals. The toads compete with native frogs for food and habitat and have seriously reduced numbers of many species.
Other Names
Marine Toad, Giant Toad
Size
Adults usually 10-15 cm long, but they can grow up to 23 cm.
Environment
forest, woodland, suburban gardens - anywhere there is enough water to breed.
Food
insects, small lizards, other small frogs
Breeding
They breed in still or slow-flowing water. Spawn is long gelatinous strings with double rows of black eggs. Females lay 8,000 to 35,000 eggs at a time and usually breed twice a year. The eggs hatch in 48-72 hours into tadpoles. They develop into toadlets in between 17 days to 6 months depending on temperature. Cane toads need between 6 and 18 months to reach sexual maturity and have a lifespan of about 5 years.
Range
Cane toads were deliberately introduced to Australia from Hawaii in 1935 in an attempt to stop the Cane Beetle from destroying sugar cane crops in North Queensland. Cane Toads were released at Gordonvale in Queensland in 1935. They were unsuccessful in controlling the cane beetles. Since then, the cane toads have spread rapidly, throughout eastern Queensland, down into New South Wales and west into Northern Territory. West Australia is preparing to defend against the invasion.
Notes
Sometimes dead dried toads are stuffed and sold as humorous figurines for the tourist trade.
Classification
Class: Amphibia
Order: Anura
Family: Bufonidae
Genus: Bufo
Species: marinus
Common Name: Cane Toad
Description
Cane Toads are large, stout amphibians with a dry and warty skin. Grey and olive brown above with pale belly with dark, irregular spots. The males make a low-pitched whirring sound when calling.
Cane toads have venomous glands, and can poison predators which attack them. This has caused a decline in numbers of numerous Australian snakes and mammals. The toads compete with native frogs for food and habitat and have seriously reduced numbers of many species.
Other Names
Marine Toad, Giant Toad
Size
Adults usually 10-15 cm long, but they can grow up to 23 cm.
Environment
forest, woodland, suburban gardens - anywhere there is enough water to breed.
Food
insects, small lizards, other small frogs
Breeding
They breed in still or slow-flowing water. Spawn is long gelatinous strings with double rows of black eggs. Females lay 8,000 to 35,000 eggs at a time and usually breed twice a year. The eggs hatch in 48-72 hours into tadpoles. They develop into toadlets in between 17 days to 6 months depending on temperature. Cane toads need between 6 and 18 months to reach sexual maturity and have a lifespan of about 5 years.
Range
Cane toads were deliberately introduced to Australia from Hawaii in 1935 in an attempt to stop the Cane Beetle from destroying sugar cane crops in North Queensland. Cane Toads were released at Gordonvale in Queensland in 1935. They were unsuccessful in controlling the cane beetles. Since then, the cane toads have spread rapidly, throughout eastern Queensland, down into New South Wales and west into Northern Territory. West Australia is preparing to defend against the invasion.
Notes
Sometimes dead dried toads are stuffed and sold as humorous figurines for the tourist trade.
Classification
Class: Amphibia
Order: Anura
Family: Bufonidae
Genus: Bufo
Species: marinus
Common Name: Cane Toad