Amphibians · Anura · Microhylidae

Eastern Narrowmouth Toad

Gastrophryne carolinensis

Least Concern

The species is abundant and widely distributed; it faces no significant short-term risk. See full glossary

The eastern narrow-mouthed toad is a tiny, teardrop-shaped microhylid, with the mouth reduced to a minute slit and a fold of skin behind the eyes that it uses to wipe ants off its face. It eats almost exclusively ants, including invasive fire ants, and spends the day buried.

Size

2 cm – 4 cm

Lifespan

8 years

Diet

Insectivore

Feeds mainly on insects and other invertebrates.

Activity

Nocturnal

Active mainly at night.

Social structure

Solitary

Lives and hunts alone, joining others only to breed.

Sighting difficulty

Easy

Temperate forestFreshwaterGrasslandInsectivore Nocturnal Solitary Amphibian Temperate forest Freshwater Grassland

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Fun facts

It has a windscreen wiper of its own: a fold of skin behind the eyes that it pushes forward with its front legs to sweep off the ants that climb onto its face while it feeds beside a nest.
It eats almost exclusively ants, including the invasive fire ants of the south-eastern United States, to whose venom it shows some resistance.
Its breeding is explosive: it emerges after heavy summer rain, breeds in ephemeral pools and the tadpoles complete metamorphosis in barely three weeks.

Life cycle & biology

Skeleton type: Vertebrate - internal bony skeleton (amphibian)
Habitat & environment: Sandy soils with leaf litter, pine woods, grassland and gardens of the south-eastern United States
Sexual maturity: 18 months
Gestation / incubation: 1 days
Litter / clutch size: 722

Sources consulted: https://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gastrophryne_carolinensis