NARROW-MOUTHED TOAD

any amphibian of the family Microhylidae, which includes more than 50 genera and more than 200 species. Narrow-mouthed toads are found in North and South America, Africa, Asia, and Australia. Typically, they are small, stocky, and smooth skinned with short legs, small heads, pointed snouts, and narrow mouths. They live on land, underground, or in trees and are generally secretive in nature. Most species are less than five centimetres (two inches) long. The eastern narrow-mouthed toad, Gastrophryne carolinensis, is a small, terrestrial microhylid of the United States. It is gray, reddish, or brown with darker stripes, spots, or blotches. The Mexican narrow-mouthed toad, or sheep frog (Hypopachus cuneus), is similar but is larger and has a yellow stripe on its back. It hides in burrows, pack rat nests, or, as does the eastern narrow-mouth, under objects lying on the ground. A variety of microhylids are found in Asia and Africa. The genus Breviceps includes a number of plump, short-faced, African species. These live and breed on land. The rain frog (B. gibbosus) is a burrowing South African form that is thought by the natives to control the coming of rain. Among the Oriental microhylids are Glyphoglossus molossus, a pug-nosed native of southeastern Asia, and Kaloula pulchra, a frequent visitor to gardens in China and Malaya. The African genus Phrynomerus (sometimes separated as the family Phrynomeridae) includes about six species of arboreal frogs; P. bifasciatus is a black and red, striped form whose skin secretions are strong enough to irritate human skin.