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- Courtesy of USGS
- Juvenile cane toad. Photo taken in Florida's Everglades.
Also known as the giant or marine toad, cane toads have the dubious distinction of being on the Global Invasive Species Database of “The 100 World’s Worse Invasive Species”. Their potent poison is contained in glands in the skin and in the immense parotid glands on each shoulder. These toads are poisonous in all stages of their lives—as eggs, tadpoles, toadlets, and adults. The secretions of cane toads are highly toxic and can sicken or kill animals that bite or feed on them, including cats, dogs, birds, and snakes.
Facts and Features
- Geographic Distribution
Natural: Amazon Basin in South America through Central America to the lower Rio Grande Valley of Texas. Introduced: Florida, Caribbean Islands, Hawaii, Guam, Philippines, Guam, western Pacific Islands, Papua New Guinea, and Australia.
- Amazing Facts
Some birds and rodents have found a way to eat cane toads without being exposed to the toxin. After killing a toad, they turn it on its back, pull away the toad’s soft belly skin, and eat its internal, toxin-free organs, leaving the skin and parotid glands behind. Some native rats have learned to eat only the legs of cane toads.
- At the Aquarium
Not on exhibit. Information is presented for use as a reference.
