Bat-toad: The weirdest toad you'll ever see
Wednesday, September 25, 2013, 9:16 AM -
This alien-looking creature was found by a park ranger in the Peruvian rain forest recently.
Yufani Olaya told the Rainforest Expeditions blog that he witnessed the whole thing unfold while on duty in Cerros de Amotape National Park.
According to Olaya, the cane toad was sitting on the ground with its mouth wide open and reportedly lunged out and clamped right down on the bat that was flying a bit too close to the ground.
While toads are often known for eating anything that moves, researchers say this is a rare, and possibly first sighting, of a cane toad feeding on a bat.
Cane toads don't have teeth, so the strategy is to crush and swallow, but this bat was a little too big for that, experts say.
The toad finally gave up and spat it out. At first Olaya thought the bat was a goner, but he said it slowly recovered and was able to fly away.
The cane toad (Bufo marinus), also known as the giant neotropical toad or marine toad, is a large, terrestrial true toad which is native to Central and South America. The cane toad has poison glands, and the tadpoles are highly toxic to most animals if ingested. Because of its voracious appetite, the cane toad has been introduced to many regions of the Pacific and the Caribbean islands as a method of agricultural pest control.