Stats

Lifespan: 1-6 yrs
Size: Small
Diet: Insectivore
Activity: Nocturnal
Social: Solitary
Biome: Freshwater wetland
Range: North America
Movement: Hopping
Breeding: Egg-laying
Defense: Camouflage
Status: Uncommon

About

This tiny toad lives under damp logs and leaf litter across the southeastern US. It lacks external eardrums and consumes thousands of ants by using its sticky, narrow tongue.

Life cycle

1.
egg
A jelly-coated egg is laid in water and develops over days into an aquatic larva.
2.
tadpole
A gilled tadpole swims and grazes on algae, slowly absorbing its tail and growing limbs.
3.
juvenile
A near-adult amphibian leaves the water with new legs and lungs, smaller than the mature form.
4.
adult
Fully grown at adult size, breathing air.

Learn more

Taxonomy

Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Amphibia
Order: Anura
Family: Microhylidae
Genus: Gastrophryne
Species: Gastrophryne carolinensis