Surinam Toad

The common Surinam toad, also called the Suriname toad or star-fingered toad, is a fully aquatic species of frog in the family Pipidae, with a wide range across much of tropical South America and the island of Trinidad. Females of the species are known for incubating their eggs on their backs, in honeycomb-like depressions within the skin, releasing fully formed froglets after four to five months, and the species is an ambush predator that lies in wait underwater before using suction feeding to swiftly inhale unsuspecting prey. Its flat body shape and dark, dull coloration camouflage it in the murky waters it inhabits, mimicking a dead leaf or piece of rotting wood as it awaits its next meal.