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Smooth-sided toad
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Amphibia
Order: Anura
Family: Bufonidae
Genus: Rhaebo
Species:
R. guttatus
Binomial name
Rhaebo guttatus
( Schneider, 1799)
Synonyms
  • Bufo guttatus Schneider, 1799
  • Bufo anderssoni Melin, 1941
  • Rhaebo anderssoni (Melin, 1941)

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]

Description

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]

Habitat and conservation

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]

References

  1. ^ a b Claudia Azevedo-Ramos, Enrique La Marca, Marinus Hoogmoed, Steffen Reichle (2010). "Rhaebo guttatus". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2010: e.T54658A11183165. doi: 10.2305/IUCN.UK.2010-2.RLTS.T54658A11183165.en. Retrieved 14 November 2021.{{ cite journal}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list ( link)
  2. ^ Frost, Darrel R. (2016). "Rhaebo guttatus (Schneider, 1799)". Amphibian Species of the World: an Online Reference. Version 6.0. American Museum of Natural History. Retrieved 30 January 2016.
  3. ^ a b Coloma, L. A.; Mueses-Cisneros J. J. "Rhaebo guttatus". Archived from the original on 31 January 2016. Retrieved 30 January 2016.
  4. ^ a b c Mueses-Cisneros, J. J.; D. F. Cisneros-Heredia & R. W. McDiarmid (2012). "A new Amazonian species of Rhaebo (Anura: Bufonidae) with comments on Rhaebo glaberrimus (Gunther, 1869) and Rhaebo guttatus (Schneider, 1799)". Zootaxa. 3447: 22–40. doi: 10.11646/zootaxa.3447.1.2. hdl: 10088/21442.
  5. ^ a b "Smooth-Sided Toad". Animal Fact Sheets. Woodland Park Zoo. Retrieved 30 January 2016.
  6. ^ "Smooth sided toad (Rhaebo guttatus)". Frogs.cc. 25 January 2014. Retrieved 28 July 2015.