Translations:AY Honors/Amphibians/Answer Key/25/en
Pseudobranchus striatus
Northern Dwarf Siren (Pseudobranchus striatus)
Where found: South-eastern United States
Description: The Northern Dwarf Sirenis a salamander lacking hind legs. It retains its gills into adulthood.
Rhinella marina
Cane toad or Marine toad (Rhinella marina)
Description: A large, terrestrial true toad which is native to Central and South America, but has been introduced to various islands throughout Oceania and the Caribbean as well as northern Australia. Adults average 10–15 cm (3.9–5.9 in) in length; the largest recorded specimen weighed 2.65 kg (5.8 lb) with a length of 38 cm (15 in) from snout to vent. The species derives its common name from its use against the cane beetle (Dermolepida albohirtum).
Habitat: The cane toad inhabits open grassland and woodland, and has displayed a "distinct preference" for areas that have been modified by humans, such as gardens and drainage ditches. In their native habitats, the toads can be found in subtropical forests.
Type of sexual reproduction: The cane toad is a prolific breeder; females lay single-clump spawns with thousands of eggs.
Eating habits: Its reproductive success is partly because of opportunistic feeding: it has a diet, unusual among anurans, of both dead and living matter. Most frogs identify prey by movement, and vision appears to be the primary method by which the cane toad detects prey; however, the cane toad can also locate food using its sense of smell. They eat a wide range of material; in addition to the normal prey of small rodents, reptiles, other amphibians, birds and a range of invertebrates, they also eat plants, dog food and household refuse.
Diseases and harm to humans: The cane toad has poison glands, and the tadpoles are highly toxic to most animals (including livestock) if ingested. There have even been human deaths due to the consumption of cane toads. The cane toad is now considered a pest and an invasive species in many of its introduced regions; of particular concern is its toxic skin, which kills many animals—native predators and otherwise—when ingested. This is a big problem in areas where it has been introduced as local animals are not aware of the danger it poses them.
Prevention: Because of its voracious appetite, the cane toad has been introduced to many regions of the Pacific and the Caribbean islands as a method of agricultural pest control. The cane toad does have its uses including in drugs, as leather, and for scientific research. Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission recommends residents kill them.
Amietophrynus regularis
Egyptian toad or African common toad (Amietophrynus regularis)
Description: The most common frog or toad in Egypt, and across much of Africa. The African common toad is a large sturdy toad with a warty skin. Males grow to a snout-to-vent length of 62 to 91 mm (2.4 to 3.6 in) and females reach 70 to 130 mm (2.8 to 5.1 in). The paratoid glands are large and either parallel or kidney-shaped and the male has a single vocal sac under the chin. The dorsal surface is dark olive-brown with dark patches on the back, often arranged fairly symmetrically, and in younger animals, there is a paler band along the spine. There are smaller dark blotches on the upper lip and the eyelids, and the warts on the flanks are often separated by dark markings. The throats of males are black and the underparts of both sexes are white to beige. The call is a rattling sound made up of two pulses and lasting for about 0.9 second.
Habitat: both moist and dry savanna, montane grassland, forest margins, and agricultural habitats. It is often found near rivers, where it also breeds. It is not a forest species but in the forest zone it can still be found in degraded habitats and towns (including gardens).
Type of sexual reproduction: lays eggs
Eating habits: bugs etc
Diseases and harm to humans: None really, toads are helpful to humans in general, but an overabundance of frogs made life hard for the Egyptians just before the Exodus.
Prevention: N/A.
