Incilius melanochlorus facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Incilius melanochlorus |
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Bufo valliceps var. Cope, 1875 |
The Wet Forest Toad (Incilius melanochlorus) is a medium-sized toad with a special head shape. It has a unique "crested" head, meaning it has ridges on top. One of its most noticeable features is its very long first finger compared to its other fingers.
This toad lives in Central America. You can find it in southern Nicaragua, the central highlands and Atlantic slopes of eastern Costa Rica, and in western Panama.
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What's in a Name?
Scientists and local people often have different names for animals. This toad has a few common names. Frank and Ramus (1995) called it the dark green toad. Panamanian scientists Jaramillo and Ibáñez (2009) used the name wet forest toad or west forest toad.
In Costa Rica, a local Spanish name for this specific toad is sapo Costaricense de la selva. But people also just call it sapo, which means "toad" in Spanish.
How Scientists Classify This Toad
The first time this toad was written about was in 1875. A scientist named Edward Drinker Cope described it as a special type of Bufo valliceps from eastern Costa Rica. Later, in 1877, Cope officially named it a new species: B. melanochlorus.
The name melanochlorus comes from Ancient Greek words. "Melanō" means "blackened," and "khlōrós" means "(yellowish) green." So, its scientific name basically means "blackened green toad."
Over the years, scientists have moved this toad between different groups, or "genera," as they learn more about how animals are related.
- In 2004, it was moved from the genus Bufo to Incilius.
- Later, some scientists tried to move it to an older genus called Cranopsis.
- However, in 2011, new studies suggested that Cranopsis and other similar groups should be put back into the Incilius genus. This is why its current scientific name is Incilius melanochlorus.
This toad is thought to be part of a group of toads called the "Forest Group." This group includes other toads like I. aucoinae, I. cavifrons, and I. cristatus.
What Does It Look Like?
Wet Forest Toads are medium to large in size.
- Males are about 6.5 to 7.4 centimeters (2.5 to 2.9 inches) long from snout to vent (the end of their body).
- Females are larger, measuring about 10.3 to 10.7 centimeters (4 to 4.2 inches).
There's a clear difference between males and females. Females have more irregular dark patterns on their backs and are bigger. Males have longer heads and stronger forearms.
Head and Face
The toad's head is wider than it is long. It has special ridges, or "crests," on its head. These crests run from its nostrils, behind its eyes, to the back of its head. The skin on top of its head is hard and attached to its skull.
- Males have a vocal sac in their throat. This sac inflates into a round, greenish ball when they call.
- Their eyes are large with a coppery-bronze color. The top half of the eye is lighter than the bottom, with a thin dark line in between.
- They have a long, thin tongue.
- Behind their eyes are small, triangular glands called paratoid glands. These glands are smaller than their upper eyelids.
- They also have a small eardrum, called a tympanum.
Body and Legs
The toad's back is very warty, but the skin itself is smooth, except near the shoulders and hips where there are small bumps. The underside of the toad is slightly rough. Along its sides, from the paratoid gland to its groin, there's a row of light-colored, spine-shaped warts. Its hind legs have many large, pointed warts.
Its back legs are quite short, as are its feet and lower leg bones (tibias). But its toes are long and have some webbing between them. The first finger on its hand is longer than the second finger. Both fingers and toes have small bumps underneath them.
Coloration
This toad is usually brown or gray. It has irregular dark gray or black blotches all over its body.
- There's often a thin or thick, lighter stripe down the middle of its back.
- The sides are dark, with a wide, dark stripe below the row of warts.
- The underside is yellowish, but its throat and chest are black. The underside of its lower jaw has white spots.
- There's a tan, square-shaped patch below its eyes that reaches its lip.
- A dark brown, mottled area from the eye to the paratoid gland looks a bit like a mask.
- Its legs are mottled with light and dark brown, and its upper thighs have dark bars.
- Young toads are often more brightly colored than adults.
Call
The male Wet Forest Toad makes a "short trill" sound. When it calls, its vocal sac inflates into a round shape. The call lasts for several seconds and is repeated many times, with a few seconds of quiet between each trill.
Similar Toads
The Wet Forest Toad looks a lot like Incilius coniferus. You can tell them apart by looking at their first finger. In the Wet Forest Toad, the first finger is almost as long as the third (longest) finger. In I. coniferus, the first finger is shorter.
It's also very similar to Incilius aucoinae. However, male I. aucoinae are smaller. The Wet Forest Toad has a black chest and throat, mottled sides, and special crests on its head that are taller and have folds between them.
Its call is also similar to I. luetkenii or I. valliceps.
Where Does It Live?
For a long time, scientists thought this toad only lived in Costa Rica. But new discoveries have changed that!
- In Costa Rica, it lives in the northern part of the Cordillera Central (central mountains) and throughout the Cordillera de Talamanca and the eastern Caribbean coast.
- In 2005, it was found in meadows of the Peninsula de Osa, which extended its known range to the Pacific slopes in the southwest of Costa Rica.
- In the late 1980s, it seemed to disappear from the Monteverde Cloud Forest Reserve in Costa Rica, but then it reappeared in the 1990s.
- In 2004, the toad was correctly identified in Nicaragua for the first time in the Indio Maíz Biological Reserve. It has since been found in other parts of Nicaragua, including the Pacific coast.
- In 2009, its known range was extended to Panama.
So, this toad is found in southern Nicaragua, Costa Rica, and western Panama.
Ecology and Life Cycle
The Wet Forest Toad is a nocturnal animal, meaning it is active at night. It is also insectivorous, which means it eats insects. These toads might become more active when it's raining lightly.
Habitat
This toad lives in wet lowland rainforests and lower premontane wet forests. These are forests found at elevations up to about 1,080 meters (3,540 feet) above sea level. It especially likes areas near large streams and at the edges of forests. In some rainforests, it can be found from sea level up to 2,000 meters (6,560 feet) in elevation. Sometimes, you can find it among the fallen leaves on the forest floor.
Reproduction
Wet Forest Toads usually reproduce during the dry season.
- Males start calling from January to February. They call from pools along rocky streams, or from within 50 centimeters (20 inches) of water.
- Males can also call at other times of the year.
- During breeding season, males develop dark-brown "nuptial pads" on their first and second fingers. These pads help them hold onto the female during mating.
- Mating, called amplexus, happens in small, somewhat rocky-bottomed streams where the water level is low.
Conservation Status
When scientists first studied this toad, they thought it only lived in Costa Rica. Because of this, it was listed as a "threatened species" in Costa Rica. People were worried about deforestation (cutting down forests) and pollution affecting its breeding places.
However, as more studies were done and its range was found to be much wider, its conservation status was changed. As of 2008, the IUCN (International Union for Conservation of Nature) describes the Wet Forest Toad as "widespread and regularly encountered." It is now considered a species of "least concern." This means it is not currently at high risk of extinction.
It is often seen during its breeding period and is common in wet forests at higher elevations. It lives in several protected areas, including:
- La Selva Biological Station in Costa Rica
- Monteverde Cloud Forest Reserve in Costa Rica
- Maquenque National Wildlife Refuge in Costa Rica
- Indio Maíz Biological Reserve in Nicaragua
- Río San Juan Wildlife Refuge in Nicaragua
Some of these toads are also kept in a special collection at the Costa Rican Amphibian Research Center. This helps scientists learn more about them and protect them.
