Smooth-sided toad | |
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Scientific classification | |
Domain: | Eukaryota |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Chordata |
Class: | Amphibia |
Order: | Anura |
Family: | Bufonidae |
Genus: | Rhaebo |
Species: | R. guttatus
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Binomial name | |
Rhaebo guttatus (
Schneider, 1799)
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Synonyms | |
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The smooth-sided toad or spotted toad (Rhaebo guttatus), formerly known as Bufo guttatus, is a species of toad in the family Bufonidae. It is found in the Amazonian Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, and Venezuela, as well as the Guianas ( French Guiana, Guyana, and Suriname). Specimens from southern Peru, Bolivia, and Brazil might represent Rhaebo ecuadorensis described in 2012. [2] [3]
Males growth to about 15 cm (5.9 in) snout–vent length. [4] [5] Females are larger, at up to 17.4 cm (6.9 in), [3] [4] possibly even 25 cm (10 in), in snout–vent length. [5] The dorsal color is cream colored or very light brown to reddish brown. The belly is a darker shade. The species has a characteristically prominent preocular ridge that is present even in juveniles. [4]
The smooth sided toad secretes a toxin from a gland behind their eyes known as a bufotoxin, it has been known to cause heart failure in humans if ingested. This toxin is the toad's main line of defense against predators. [6]
Its natural habitats are tropical moist lowland forests, in particular mature gallery forests. It occurs on the ground or in deep leaf-litter on the forest floor. It is locally threatened by habitat loss. [1]
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