Mexican Burrowing Toad

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Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Amphibia
Order:	Anura
Suborder:	Mesobatrachia
Family:	Rhinophrynidae Günther, 1859
Genus:	Rhinophrynus Duméril & Bibron, 1841
Species:	R. dorsalis

Binomial name

Rhinophrynus dorsalis
Duméril & Bibron, 1841

Distribution of Rhinophyrnidae (in black)

The Mexican Burrowing Toad (Rhinophrynus dorsalis) is the only species in the genus Rhinophrynus and the family Rhinophrynidae of order Anura. These frogs live from the southern Texas through Mexico, Guatemala, Honduras, El Salvador to Nicaragua and Costa Rica.

[edit] Physical description

The Mexican Burrowing Toad grows to 8 cm in length, and usually has red spots on its bloated body with a red stripe along the center of its back. It has short legs, and a small, pointed head. Its feet have horny, shovel-like appendages which, along with the short, powerful legs, aid it in digging. Its eyes are relatively small, and the tympanum is not visible. Unique among the frogs, the Mexican Burrowing Toad's tongue in projected directly out the front of the mouth, instead of being flipped out as in all other frogs.

[edit] Ecology and behaviour

As the name suggests, the Mexican Burrowing toad, is a burrowing frog, and it spends a large part of its life underground. After a large period of rain, it will emerge from the soil and lay eggs in a water source. They will travel up to 1.6km to find a suitable water source. Due to the unpredictability of rain, the frog will call and mate during any time of the year. It will burrow into soft soil with its short legs once the environment has dried up. The egg and tadpole stage of the life cycle is relatively short, the eggs taking only a few days to hatch, and the tadpoles from 1 to 3 months. The call is a loud, low pitched "wh-o-o-o-a". When it is calling or alarmed, the body becomes inflated.

The Mexican Burrowing Toad eats insects, primarily ants and termites.

[edit] References

Santos-Barrera et al (2004). Rhinophrynus dorsalis. 2006 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. IUCN 2006. Retrieved on 09 May 2006. Database entry includes a range map and justification for why this species is of least concern
ADW: Rhinoprynus dorsalis: Information. Retrieved on 2006-05-08.
ADW: Rhinophrynidae: Information. Retrieved on 2006-05-08.

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