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Rhinella marina
The skeletal remains of Rhinella marina, the ubiquitous cane toad. It was only by chance that I spotted this amongst the dirt and leaf litter on the banks of a freshwater pond. I initially thought this was the neck and skull of a Brisbane short-necked turtle, but alas, that was not to be. I've looked at a few rough images of cane toad anatomy and am confident this is the correct ID. Luckily, some of the skin was also present, so I could see the poison gland pores at the base of the skull and shoulder area. The skin covering these glands is distinctively and quite obvious. Here's a previous spotting for comparison - https://www.projectnoah.org/spottings/14... Note the massive poison glands and skin texture above the shoulder area of this toad. This feature alone tells me these are the remains of a cane toad and not any other amphibian.
This pond was situated in remnant eucalyptus woodland on the campus of Griffith University, Mt. Gravatt, which is adjacent to the Mt. Gravatt Conservation Reserve. Cane toads are everywhere in southeast Queensland, and freshwater ponds like this provide the perfect habitat.
3 Comments
I've never seen the eggs, Hema, but I have seen thousands of toadlets. Small and lightning-fast. Not just the Irwin's for reassurance, but just ordinary Aussies as everyday heroes. Stories and images of so many awesome people and organisations fighting fires and rescuing wildlife flood the press and social media. Tragedy usually shakes people out of their complacency, and the reassurance I get is that people actually do care very deeply. I wish I could say the same about our political leaders. They are a national disgrace. This is one story I did like - the owners of this refuge couldn't abandon their animals, so they stayed to fight the fires. All survived. https://7news.com.au/news/bushfires/kang...
Also really sorry about the fires Heart wrenching ! It must be reassuring to have the Irwin’s! Stay safe !
It lays its eggs in the form of a strip