Pipa Surinamskaya (lat. Pipa pipa) is a representative.
Appearance
Pipa’s head stands out brightly against the background of the body: it has a triangular shape. Eyes are located in the upper part of the muzzle. Pipa has no century. The toad does not have tongue and teeth. Instead of these organs, the Surinam Pipa has skin rags that look like tentacles.
The toad has no swimming membranes, long fingers are freely located on the legs. The Surinam Pip has no claws than it differs from all higher animals. Another feature is the presence of skin folds on the hind limbs. They are needed to improve swimming skills.
The body length of the frog varies from 15 to 20 cm. Sometimes large individuals are found, their length is 22 cm. The skin of the pipa is rough, there are many black stains on it. Pipa’s torso gray or brown. Pipa also has a dark strip, it is located at the throat. Pipa has a scolding smell of hydrogen sulfide, he protects against predators.
The physique of the frog is also special. It is as if flat. The body resembles a leaf, it is the same flattened and rounded. The frog has short paws that are located symmetrically. Pipa’s muzzle is acute.
Where it lives
This toad is almost all the time in the water. With the onset of the dry season, a piping can go to other reservoirs, but then she continues to travel through forests filled with water. This influenced the appearance of the amphibian the eyes of Pipa became very small, the eardrum was atrophied.
The toad inhabit Brazil, Bolivia and Peru. That is, these amphibians occupy almost the entire Amazon. They are found in rivers, small ponds and even inhabit the irrigation channels that are needed to moisturize plantations. Interestingly, these frogs love precisely warm reservoirs with a weak current. Moreover, the presence of a silty bottom is also important, because the toad lives on the silt.
What eats
With the help of long fingers, the Surinam peep combs the earth in search of food. Immediately after being, the toad begins to chew. The diet of a toad consists of organic residues that it is looking for in the soil or at the bottom of the river. Pipa also eats small fish and worms, insects. It can eat plankton.
Natural enemies
The Surinam peep is often attacked by vague and duck, heron and storks. The turtles are also hunting for pea. However, the frog should be more afraid of snakes. After all, their body is as if strengthened by sensors, which can determine the heat that comes from all living organisms.
Sexually mature individuals can still beat off enemies, quickly moving away from dangerous terrain, but tadpoles cannot even. Therefore, even a dragonfly or any water insect can kill them. It is because of this that the Surinam Pipa puts off several thousand eggs, only this fact does not allow me to die out.
Reproduction
During the propagation period, the male seems to click, hinting at the readiness to mate. After the ritual has worked, the couple makes a dance under water. The female at this time carefully evaluates the future father. Then the pipa lays eggs, which the male synchronously waters with her seed fluid. Upon completion of the process, the pipa dives into the water, there the eggs fall into the “honeycomb” on her back. In these cells, eggs will develop for a long time. If the female has not nurtured them before, the male pushes her holes in the back with paws. In one masonry, usually about 40-140 eggs.
The female bores children on her back for about 80 days. Offspring weighs about 380-400 g, because the Surinam pipa is very tired. This format for growing cubs is good for the fact that after the masonry has formed, a membrane begins to form on top, which protects the offspring. The depth of the “holes” in the back of the female is approximately 2 mm.
During his stay in the body of the female, offspring receives many useful substances. In the partitions that separate the kids from each other, there are many vessels through which oxygen and other nutrients enter the offspring. After about 11 weeks, small toads begin to appear. They reach puberty only by 6 years.
