A Curious Collection of Peculiar Creatures

What are those spots on the back of the Surinam toad? Believe it or not, they’re small holes, and each one contains a baby toad! These bizarre amphibians have a remarkable ability: They incubate and hatch their babies in their backs. This way, they can protect their eggs from predators, which they wouldn’t be able to do as well if they laid the eggs on a rock or in the water. When they mate, the eggs are implanted in the female’s back, and afterward she grows a layer of skin over them. After 12 to 20 weeks, tiny toads emerge!

Surinam toads are so flat, they look like they’ve been stepped on or run over. Males average around 4 to 6 inches (10--15 cm) long and females are a little bigger.

This toad gets its name from one of the places it calls home: Suriname. You’ll also find them in the Amazon basin of South America, in such countries as Bolivia, Ecuador, Colombia, Brazil, and Trinidad and Tobago. They can be difficult to spot as they’re extremely flat and conceal themselves well in their rain-forest habitat. Tucked under debris or dirt in ponds, rivers, and pools of water, they look just like fallen leaves or flat rocks.

Unlike most frogs and toads, the Surinam toad doesn’t have a tongue! Instead it relies on its star-like fingers to sense food nearby and shove it into its mouth. It also uses suction to swallow passing snacks in one gulp.

Surinam toads usually find worms, small fish, invertebrates, and crustaceans this way, but they’re not fussy eaters and will gobble up almost anything they come across—even other Surinam toads!

Surinam toads are occasionally collected and sold as pets, but habitat loss is their main threat. Although many of the places they live are protected, they still fall victim to logging, land-clearing for plantations, and the intrusion of humans. Fortunately, there are lots of them around right now, and they’re not at risk of extinction in the near future.

Fun Facts

They have small, fleshy growths in the corners of their mouths that they use attract prey, a little like the humpback anglerfish’s lure.
The babies that emerge from a female’s back are not tadpoles. They are miniature adults and are fully independent.
Although Surinam toads in captivity will sometimes try to eat one another, these toads won’t eat their own babies.
Their eyes are on top of their head, which allows them to stay alert to their surroundings and see in every direction.