Another source of damage is the reckless introduction of invasive alien plant or animal species to our islands, such as the giant catfish, black bass, golden snail, various toads including the
marine toad, and the American bullfrog.
The Giant
Marine Toad is endemic to South Texas and Florida.
Some hardy types of frog, like the
marine toad, can tolerate short periods of handling, but it's always good to wet your hands, or don moistened vinyl gloves.
Habitat loss and competition from introduced species, including the
marine toad (Bufo marinus), are the major causes for the toad's decline and led to its listing as a threatened species in 1987 by the U.S.
The cast of creatures is quite diverse: anthropods: giant cockroach, Mexican orange-kneed tarantula; snakes: ball python, pueblan milk snake, Mexican milk snake, sinoloan milk snake, corn snake; turtles: eastern box turtle, ornate box turtle; amphibians: oriental fire-bellied toad,
Marine toad; birds: yellow-headed Amazon parrot, roller pigeon, American kestrel (small falcon), Harris hawk; mammals: chinchilla, opossum, ferret, and many more.
The objective of this study is to determine how these variables influence the magnitude and duration of the SDA response for a single species, the
marine toad Bufo marinus.
However, several Bufo species (including the Colorado river toad, native to West Texas and California, and the
marine toad of Hawaii and Florida) secrete extremely powerful poisons that can cause vomiting, cardiac arrest, and death.
A dog may become sick or die if it bites a
marine toad.
Also damaging is the reckless introduction of invasive alien plant or animal species to the islands, among the most harmful being the giant catfish, black bass, golden snail, various toads including the
marine toad, and the American bullfrog.
The endangered Iriomote wildcats on Iriomotejima Island in Okinawa Prefecture face a new threat to their existence from an invasion of the island by poisonous
marine toads, the Environment Ministry said Monday.