Mutant Dinner Plate Sized Toads Invade Australia

[mandy]

Photo of Super Toad: http://network.news.com.au/image/0,10114,5109855,00.jpg

Toxic toads bound across the northern tropics of Australia faster than ever, thanks to the evolution of longer legs in the few short decades since humans introduced them to their own little paradise...

The toads can grow as large as dinner plates and weigh up to 4.5 pounds. Their heads and backsides are studded with rows of warts that secrete a milky white toxin called bufotoxin.

Because Australia has no native toads, many native predators such as snakes, lizards and mammals are very sensitive to the toxin. So when the toads spread, they immediately kill off many of the region's top predators...

full article: http://www.livescience.com/animalworld/0..._toad.html

[jezebel]

The toads can grow as large as dinner plates and weigh up to 4.5 pounds.

Imagine leaving your window open at night and waking up to a giant toad sitting on your chest staring you in the face? 

[stardust]

Man.  Goes to show you what messin' with mother nature can do to the balance of critters.  Humans included.  :o

[misteroriginal]

Australian scientists have tried for decades to eradicate the toads, but with limited success. Last year, researchers announced they had successfully lured and trapped the toads using ultraviolet lights like those used in disco clubs.

[landofsmiles]

Their heads and backsides are studded with rows of warts that secrete a milky white toxin called bufotoxin.

Or Botox for short.