Toad aga - the most famous poisonous species of South and Central America. Frogs are one of the most common animals on our planet, there are more than 2,500 species of these amphibians. They are found on every continent except Antarctica. Although no one knows what scientists will eventually be able to find under many kilometers of ice.
Description
The variety of these animals is amazing. They differ in color, size, toxicity, can live in water and in the desert. Each species is unique in its own way. The toad has its own characteristics, too. The description will give an idea of what kind of amphibian it is.
- Detachment Tailless, family Real toads. Has no subspecies.
- Body color is usually dark brown. Black spots are clearly visible on the back, small spots of red and brown shades on the abdomen.
- The skin of young animals is smooth, in adults it is rough and keratinized, covered with poisonous skin glands and warts.
- The body is overweight, with a noticeable belly. Pawsmuscular short, covered with sharp warty growths. Webbing is only on the hind legs. Sexually mature males have well-marked nubile calluses on their limbs, which help them to hold tightly on the female during mating.
- Bone black crests are clearly visible on the head, more pointed in males. Pass along the line from the nostrils to the eyes. On the sides of the head are large paired parotid glands (paratoids) that produce poison. Toads of this species differ in the shape of the head and the presence of the eardrum. Bone protrusions of a semicircular shape are located clearly above the upper eyelid. The mouth is wide, which allows you to swallow a fairly large prey.
- The aga toad (Bufo marinus) is second in size only to one species of its own kind - Bufo blombergi (Blomberg's toad). Individuals grow up to 25 cm in length and up to 12 cm in width, weight can exceed 2 kg. The average size is up to 15 cm, body weight is within 1 kg. Males are smaller than females. An individual with a live weight of 2.6 kg and a body length of 38 cm is listed in the Guinness Book of Records.
- Well-developed lungs allow them to easily do without water. Tolerates direct sunlight well.
- Life expectancy in the wild is no more than 10 years. Leads a mostly solitary nocturnal lifestyle. Goes hunting at dusk. Juveniles are also active during the day.
This is one of the ugliest toads on Earth. It defends itself from its enemies with poison, which can shoot at a distance of up to 1.5 meters and is very targeted. When meeting with a potential threat, the toad inflates and rises on its paws, noticeably increasingin sizes.
Habitat
Recognized as homeland of South and Central America. The Rio Grande River (Texas, USA) serves as the northern border. In the south, toads settled down to the Amazonian lowland and northeastern Peru. Toads are able to live at temperatures from +50 to +40 0C in tropical and temperate climates, at altitudes up to 1600 meters above sea level.
Today the aga can be found in Australia, the Philippines, Papua New Guinea, the Caribbean and Pacific Islands (Hawaii, Fiji), China, Japan (Ogasawara, Ryukyu). This is due to the fact that they tried to use the toads as a biological weapon in the fight against agricultural pests on cane plantations.
Toad yeah (you can see her photo in the article) prefers dry soils. During periods of molting and breeding, it seeks more moist areas. Animals live in woodlands and shrubs, evergreen tropical and subtropical hardwood forests. Floodplains of rivers, shores of lakes and reclamation ditches, mangroves are quite suitable for the life of amphibians. Individuals are found on sea coasts, in estuaries with low salinity, so they have another name Bufo marinus - sea toad.
Reproduction
Puberty comes to 1-1, 5 years. The rainy season (depending on different continents) creates a favorable environment, humid and warm. It is at this time that the marriage period begins. Under favorable conditions, there is no clearly defined breeding season. Animals are able to bear offspring all year round.
The male calls the female with a peculiar singing. Before fertilizing the eggs, the male can “ride” on the back of a girlfriend for up to 2 weeks. Toad aga lays from 4,000 to 35,000 eggs in the form of a long (up to 20 m) cord. Chooses ponds with a slow current and clean clear water. After spawning, parents show no concern for future offspring.
Food
Poison toad yup has another feature. These animals are practically omnivores. Anything that can fit in their huge mouth is good food. They go hunting after dark, react to the movement of prey, and find a motionless victim with the help of smell.
The main diet is insects, including honey bees. They hunt amphibians, small vertebrates: chicks, lizards, small rodents. On the sea coast they eat jellyfish and crabs. Toads can eat carrion. Lack of food provokes cannibalism.
Home maintenance
Having a toad at home isn't difficult. Use terrariums with a volume of at least 40 liters. Basic Requirements:
- equipment of the point of local daytime heating, to provide temperature +25 0С… +28 0С during the day, and +22 0S… 24 0S– at night;
- the presence of a swimming pool, the water in which is changed daily;
- deep and soft ground - toads prefer to burrow into loose soil during daylight hours.
The composition of the litter may be different. Usually they use pure peat or peat mixed with sand, fallen leaves, moss, coconut chips, fresh earth.
Feed crickets, mollusks, worms, cockroaches, newborn mice, small rodents, chickens. It is recommended to introduce vitamins, vegetables, feed additives rich in calcium into the diet.
Poison
The toad is capable of producing poison containing 14 chemicals. The lethal combination primarily affects the heart and nervous system. The manifestation of poisoning is profuse uncontrolled salivation, arrhythmia, vomiting, increased blood pressure, convulsions, paralysis. Death occurs from cardiac arrest.
People have known about the properties of poison since time immemorial. Used it for different purposes:
- in Japan used as an aphrodisiac and as a cure for hair loss;
- South American Indians oiled hunting arrowheads and spears;
- priests used it (in small doses) as a drug;
- Chinese achieved lower heart rate, which is important during heart surgery;
- voodoo sorcerers used poison to zombify.
