Common Surinam toad (Pipa pipa)

The common Suriname toad is a species of frog in the family Pipidae found in Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, French Guiana, Guyana, Peru, Suriname, Trinidad and Tobago, and Venezuela. Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical moist lowland forests, subtropical or tropical swamps, swamps, freshwater marshes, and intermittent freshwater marshes. It is threatened by habitat loss. The common Suriname toad is similar in appearance to a mottled brown leaf, and is almost completely flat. Specimens of close to 20 cm in length have been recorded, although 10–13 cm is a typical size. The Suriname toad has minute eyes, no teeth, and no tongue. It is a predator and scavenger, capturing invertebrates and small fish with its star-fingered hands to eat, or swallowing dead creatures it comes across. Suriname toads are best known for their reproductive habits. Unlike the majority of toads, the males of this species do not attract mates with croaks and other sounds often associated with these aquatic animals. Instead, they produce a sharp clicking sound by snapping the hyoid bone in their throats. The partners rise from the floor while in amplexus and flip through the water in arcs. During each arc, the female releases 3 to 10 eggs, which get embedded in the skin on her back by the male’s movements. After implantation, the eggs sink into the skin and form pockets over a period of several days, eventually taking on the appearance of an irregular honeycomb. The embryos develop through to the tadpole stage inside these pockets, eventually emerging from the mother’s back as fully developed toads, though they are less than an inch long (25 mm). Once they have emerged from their mother’s back, the toads begin a largely solitary life.

photo credits: Hugo Claessen, Dein Freund der Baum, Endeneon