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.

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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)

_____________________ 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)