News tagged with toads
New study suggests how toads might predict earthquakes
The trouble with earthquakes, other than their obvious devastation, is that thus far they have proved to be very nearly impossible to predict, despite considerable effort towards that goal; being able to do ...
Dec 02, 2011 |
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Researchers turn to museums to track down clues in mysterious amphibian declines
There's a crisis among the world's amphibians -- about 40 percent of amphibian species have dwindled in numbers in just three decades. Now, museum jars stuffed full of amphibians may help scientists decide ...
May 02, 2011 |
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Discovery: Some frogs eliminate foreign objects via their bladders
(PhysOrg.com) -- Three species of Australian frogs have been found to be able to move transmitters implanted in them to their bladders for elimination. This process appears to be a unique way of eliminating ...
Dec 09, 2010 |
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Living the high life is risky business for toads under threat from fungus
(PhysOrg.com) -- Midwife toads that live in the mountains are highly likely to die from a serious fungal infection, called chytridiomycosis, whereas their infected relatives in the lowlands are not, according ...
Jan 24, 2010 |
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Frog trade link to killer fungus revealed
The global trade in frogs, toads and other amphibians may have accidentally helped create and spread the deadly fungal disease, chytridiomycosis, which has devastated amphibian populations worldwide.
Nov 08, 2011 |
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Borneo rainbow toad seen for 1st time in 87 years
Scientists scouring the mountains of Borneo spotted a toad species last seen in 1924 by European explorers and provided the world with the first photographs of the colorful, spindly legged creature, a researcher ...
Jul 14, 2011 |
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Speedy toads advance theory of evolution
(PhysOrg.com) -- Speed and the mating habits of the Australian cane toad are set to expand the theory of evolution according to research published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of t ...
Mar 23, 2011 |
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Scientists teach Australian marsupial to aid in its own survival
Ever since its arrival in Australia, the poisonous cane toad has been killing native predators such as the northern quoll, a cat-sized marsupial. Now scientists have found a clever way to save the endangered quoll: training ...
Apr 19, 2010 |
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Toads' earthquake exodus
Common toads (Bufo bufo) can detect impending seismic activity and alter their behaviour from breeding to evacuation mode, suggests a new study in the Zoological Society of London's (ZSL) Journal of Zoolog ...
Mar 30, 2010 |
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El Nino and a pathogen killed Costa Rican toad, study finds
Scientists broadly agree that global warming may threaten the survival of many plant and animal species; but global warming did not kill the Monteverde golden toad, an often cited example of climate-triggered ...
Mar 01, 2010 |
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Inflatable toad gives small guys the slip
The female cane toad can pump herself up to mega-size to throw off smaller males striving to mate with her, Australian biologists reported on Wednesday.
Jan 05, 2010 |
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Study casts new light on research of controversial scientist Paul Kammerer
A new study into the research of the renowned Lamarckian experimentalist Paul Kammerer may help to end the controversy which has engulfed his research for almost a century. The study, published in The Journal of Experimental Zo ...
Sep 03, 2009 |
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Aussie meat ants may be invasive cane toad's Achilles' heel
Ecologists in Australia have discovered that cane toads are far more susceptible to being killed and eaten by meat ants than native frogs. Their research - published in the British Ecological Society's journal Functional Ec ...
Mar 30, 2009 |
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Traffic harms Asturian amphibians
The roads are the main cause of fragmenting the habitats of many species, especially amphibians, as they cause them to be run over and a loss of genetic diversity. Furthermore, traffic harms two abundant species ...
Apr 12, 2012 |
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Invasive plant protects Australian lizards from invasive toad
An invasive plant may have saved an iconic Australian lizard species from death at the hands of toxic cane toads, according to research published in the March issue of The American Naturalist. It's an int ...
Feb 22, 2012 |
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Toad
A toad can refer to a number of species of amphibians in the order Anura. A distinction is often made between frogs and toads by their appearance, prompted by the convergent adaptation among so-called "toads" to dry habitats. Many "toads" have leathery skin for better water retention, and brown coloration for camouflage. They also tend to burrow. However, these adaptations are not reliable indicators of its ancestry. Because taxonomy reflects only evolutionary relationships, any distinction between frogs and toads is irrelevant to their classification.
For instance, many members of the frog families Bombinatoridae, Discoglossidae, Pelobatidae, Rhinophrynidae, Scaphiopodidae, and some species from the Microhylidae family are commonly called "toads". However, the only family exclusively given the common name "toad" is Bufonidae, or the "true toads". Some "true frogs" of the genus Rana have also adapted to burrowing habitats, while a bufonid species in the genus Atelopus are conversely known by the common name "harlequin frogs". Similarly to frogs, toads also display metamorphosis from tadpole to sexually mature adult.
For more information about Toad, read the full article at
Wikipedia.
This text uses material from Wikipedia and is available under the GNU Free Documentation License.
