Amphibians · Anura · Pipidae

Surinam Toad

Pipa pipa

Least Concern

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

It has one of the most extraordinary breeding systems in the animal kingdom: the female releases eggs that become embedded in the skin of her back, where they develop until they emerge as fully formed frogs.

Weight

100 g – 160 g

Size

up to 20 cm

Lifespan

8 years

Diet

Carnivore

Feeds mainly on other animals.

Activity

Nocturnal

Active mainly at night.

Social structure

Solitary

Lives and hunts alone, joining others only to breed.

Sighting difficulty

Easy

FreshwaterCarnivore Nocturnal Solitary Amphibian Freshwater

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Fun facts

While mating, the pair turn acrobatic somersaults in the water as the eggs are fertilised.
It never goes through a free-swimming tadpole stage: the young emerge straight from their mother's back.
It catches small aquatic vertebrates and invertebrates by suction.
reproducciónFemales incubate the eggs in small pockets in the skin of their backs, from which the young emerge fully formed.

Life cycle & biology

Skeleton type: Vertebrate - internal bony skeleton (amphibian)
Habitat & environment: Murky, swampy, low-oxygen fresh water of the Amazon basin and the Guianas
Birth weight: The larva develops entirely inside cells on the mother's back, with no free tadpole stage
Size at birth: Under 2 cm long as it emerges from its mother's back, already a miniature adult
Sexual maturity: ~3 years
Gestation / incubation: 80-105 days (12-20 weeks) developing embedded in the skin of the mother's back
Litter / clutch size: 60 to 100 eggs per clutch, each embedded in a cell in the skin of the female's back
Lifespan in captivity: Documented record of up to 7.7 years in captivity

Sources consulted: Flickr (CAS Docents); UWI Life Sciences (Pipa pipa profile); Animal Diversity Web; Britannica; AnAge (genomics.senescence.info); Reptile Apartment; Mary Bates Science Writer; Wikipedia (Common Surinam toad); USGS NAS Species Profile

Where to find it

See its range on the interactive map

Best time: All year round in backwaters and turbid water of Amazonia and the Guianas, at night; its dead-leaf appearance makes it almost impossible to pick out from the bottom.