The Cane Toad is a large, terrestrial true toad native to Central and
South America. It is a member of the genus Bufo, which includes
hundreds of different true toad species in different habitats
throughout the world. The Cane Toad is a prolific breeder; females
lay
single-clump spawns with large numbers of eggs. Its reproductive
success is partly due to opportunistic feeding: it has a diet,
unusual
among frogs, of both dead and living matter. Adults average 10 to 15
centimetres (4–6 in) in length, the largest recorded specimen weighed
2.65 kilograms (5.84 lb) and measured 38 centimetres (15 in) from
snout to vent. The Cane Toad has large poison glands, and adults and
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 as a method of agricultural pest control, notably in
the case of Australia in 1935, and derives its common name from its
use against sugar cane pests. The Cane Toad is considered a pest in
many of its introduced regions, as its toxic skin kills many native
predators when ingested.
Read the rest of this article:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cane_Toad
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Today's selected anniversaries:
778:
A Frankish army led by Roland was defeated in the Battle of Roncevaux
Pass, a tale retold in the Old French epic poem The Song of Roland.
(
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Song_of_Roland)
1534:
Ignatius of Loyola and six others at Montmartre near Paris took the
vows that led to the establishment of the Society of Jesus.
(
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Society_of_Jesus)
1914:
The Panama Canal opened to traffic, providing a short-cut from the
Atlantic to the Pacific Ocean.
(
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Panama_Canal)
1945:
World War II: The Gyokuon-hōsō was broadcast in Japan, announcing the
unconditional surrender of the Japanese military.
(
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gyokuon-hoso)
1969:
The Woodstock Music and Art Festival in Bethel, New York began.
(
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Woodstock_Festival)
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Wikiquote of the day:
"Call for the grandest of all earthly spectacles, what is that? It is
the sun going to his rest. Call for the grandest of all human
sentiments, what is that? It is that man should forget his anger
before he lies down to sleep." -- Thomas De Quincey
(
http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Thomas_De_Quincey)