An Aquatic Wonder: The Suriname toad

There are times that things are not at all as they initially seem. For example, there was that night when I was moving slowly from bridge to bridge along a small creek on Madre Selva Preserve in Amazonian Per looking intently for aquatic coral snakes. Usually common, this coral was proving difficult to find on this trip.

While I was studying the bottom of a shallow pool, a large fallen leaf began moving slowly away. My interest quickly changed from coral snake to the "moving leaf." The water was silted and the moving object was further obscured by fallen leaves. But it took only a few moments for recognition to occur.

Well-camouflaged though it was, I was looking at a common Suriname toad, Pipa pipa. And that one sighting had turned what had been a rather slow herping trek into a memorable stroll.

Suriname toad facts:

This anuran is a member of the family Pipidae, the tongueless frogs.

The eyes are small and lidless.

The fingers are tipped with tactile skin flanges and prey is literally shoveled into the tongueless mouth with the forefeet.

After a complex breeding sequence the eggs are placed on the female's back and are soon covered by skin.

The eggs undergo full development while being carried by the female. At hatching the toadlets are fully metamorphosed miniatures of the adult.

This species is fully aquatic.

More photos under the jump...

Each egg is carried in a skin covered "cocoon" on the back of the female Suriname toad. The fingers of the Suriname toad are tipped with tactile flanges:

Author, photographer, and columnist Richard Bartlett is one of the most prolific writers on herpetological subjects in the 20th century. With hundreds of books and articles to their credit, Richard and his wife Pat have spent over four decades documenting reptiles both in the field and in captivity. For a list of their current titles, please visit their page in our bookstore.