Trivia question for May-05-2011

Posted on May 5, 2011 in Trivia

Happy Cinco de Mayo 😉

Olivia wanted to find something fitting for todays celebration and this is what she came up with;  This odd looking toad has a small head, pointed snout and short limbs.  It digs backward underground and above ground they can move as easily forward as backward.

This is the only species, within its family, with over 190 million years of independent evolution, these toads are the most evolutionarily distinct amphibian species on Earth today; a fruit bat, polar bear, killer whale, kangaroo and human are all more similar to one another than this species is to any other amphibian.

So here are Olivia’s questions:  What is this toad called and tell us how many days does it take for their eggs to hatch into tadpoles?  Also, tell us what the spanish name for these guys is and what it means?

Good Luck 😉

Answer:

Wow, Olivia is all smiles.  No one figured out her Cinco de Mayo special edition trivia.  The toad we featured is the Mexican Burrowing Toad.  After laying their eggs, they hatch within 3-7 days and emerge as fully developed tadpoles.  The Spanish name for these guys is ‘Sapo Burracho’ which means Drunken Toad, due to its strange habit of crawling backward.

The Mexican Burrowing Toad grows to 8 cm (3.1 in) in length, and usually has red spots on its bloated body with a red stripe along the center of its back. It has short legs, and a small, pointed head. Its feet have horny, shovel-like appendages which, along with the short, powerful legs, aid it in digging. Its eyes are relatively small, and the tympanum is not visible. Unique among the frogs, the Mexican Burrowing Toad’s tongue is projected directly out the front of the mouth, instead of being flipped out, as in all other frogs.

Here is more on these cool toads: Mexican Burrowing Toad

Thanks for playing along 😉