Stats

Lifespan: 6-8 yrs
Size: Large
Diet: Carnivore
Activity: Nocturnal
Social: Solitary
Biome: Tropical rainforest
Range: South America
Movement: Swimming
Breeding: Egg-laying
Defense: Camouflage
Status: Rare

About

The Suriname Toad incubates its eggs directly in honeycomb-like pockets in the skin of the mother's back, where tadpoles develop fully before erupting as miniature toadlets. It is entirely aquatic and almost completely flat, relying on long sensitive fingers to detect prey in murky Amazonian waters.

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.

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Taxonomy

Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Amphibia
Order: Anura
Family: Pipidae
Genus: Pipa
Species: Pipa pipa