The smooth-sided toad or spotted toad (''Rhaebo guttatus''), formerly known as ''Bufo guttatus'', is a species of

toad Toad is a common name for certain frogs, especially of the family Bufonidae, that are characterized by dry, leathery skin, short legs, and large bumps covering the parotoid glands. A distinction between frogs and toads is not made in scient ...

in the family

Bufonidae {{Cat main, Toad This category contains both species commonly called toads, and the true toads from the family Bufonidae. Animals by common name Frogs ...

. It is found in the Amazonian

Bolivia , image_flag = Bandera de Bolivia (Estado).svg , flag_alt = Horizontal tricolor (red, yellow, and green from top to bottom) with the coat of arms of Bolivia in the center , flag_alt2 = 7 × 7 square p ...

Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...

, Colombia,

Ecuador Ecuador ( ; ; Quechuan languages, Quechua: ''Ikwayur''; Shuar language, Shuar: ''Ecuador'' or ''Ekuatur''), officially the Republic of Ecuador ( es, República del Ecuador, which literally translates as "Republic of the Equator"; Quechuan ...

Peru , image_flag = Flag of Peru.svg , image_coat = Escudo nacional del Perú.svg , other_symbol = Great Seal of the State , other_symbol_type = Seal (emblem), National seal , national_motto = "Fi ...

, and

Venezuela Venezuela (; ), officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela ( es, link=no, República Bolivariana de Venezuela), is a country on the northern coast of South America, consisting of a continental landmass and many islands and islets in ...

, as well as the

Guianas The Guianas, sometimes called by the Spanish loan-word ''Guayanas'' (''Las Guayanas''), is a region in north-eastern South America which includes the following three territories: * French Guiana, an overseas department and region of France * ...

(

French Guiana French Guiana ( or ; french: link=no, Guyane ; gcr, label=French Guianese Creole, Lagwiyann ) is an overseas departments and regions of France, overseas department/region and single territorial collectivity of France on the northern Atlantic ...

, Guyana, and

Suriname Suriname (; srn, Sranankondre or ), officially the Republic of Suriname ( nl, Republiek Suriname , srn, Ripolik fu Sranan), is a country on the northeastern Atlantic coast of South America. It is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the north ...

). Specimens from southern Peru, Bolivia, and Brazil might represent '' Rhaebo ecuadorensis'' described in 2012.

Description

Males growth to about snout–vent length. Females are larger, at up to , possibly even , in snout–vent length. The dorsal color is cream colored or very light brown to reddish brown. The belly is a darker shade. The species has a characteristically prominent preocular ridge that is present even in juveniles. The smooth sided toad secretes a toxin from a gland behind their eyes known as a

bufotoxin Bufotoxins are a family of toxic steroid lactones or substituted tryptamines of which some may or may not be toxic. They occur in the parotoid glands, skin, and poison of many toads (genus ''Bufo'') and other amphibians, and in some plants and mus ...

, it has been known to cause heart failure in humans if ingested. This toxin is the toad's main line of defense against predators.

Habitat and conservation

Its natural

habitat In ecology, the term habitat summarises the array of resources, physical and biotic factors that are present in an area, such as to support the survival and reproduction of a particular species. A species habitat can be seen as the physical ...

s are tropical moist lowland

forest A forest is an area of land dominated by trees. Hundreds of definitions of forest are used throughout the world, incorporating factors such as tree density, tree height, land use, legal standing, and ecological function. The United Nations' ...

s, in particular mature gallery forests. It occurs on the ground or in deep leaf-litter on the forest floor. It is locally threatened by

habitat loss Habitat destruction (also termed habitat loss and habitat reduction) is the process by which a natural habitat becomes incapable of supporting its native species. The organisms that previously inhabited the site are displaced or dead, thereby ...

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q28031125 Rhaebo Amphibians of Bolivia Amphibians of Brazil Amphibians of Colombia Amphibians of Ecuador Amphibians of French Guiana Amphibians of Guyana Amphibians of Peru Amphibians of Suriname Amphibians of Venezuela Taxonomy articles created by Polbot Amphibians described in 1799