AMPHIBIA: ANURA: PIPIDAE: Pipa

Pipa pipa Author and date

Surinam Toad

Photo & text by Dr. Robert G. Sprackland

Range: Freshwater bodies of northeastern South America.

Diagnosis: A strongly depressed frog with very long digits, each tipped with star-like structures. The head is strongly triangular, flat, and fitted with two tiny eyes.

Description:

Natural History: This bizarre species is among the most ancestral of living amphibians. Surinam toads are completely aquatic, and are clumsy swimmers. They frequent peat-filled water, and use the star-shaped digit structures as sense organs to help locate buried prey. They also have a sophisticated lateral line system, similar to that of fishes, which may aid in both navigation and prey location.

They are likely to feed on any small creatures they can overpower, from worms to small fishes.

Reproduction:

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