Surinam, << SUR uh nam, >> toad is an odd-shaped toad known for the unusual way it raises its young. The toad is named for Suriname (also spelled Surinam), a country in northeastern South America, where it was first discovered. The animal is flat with a head shaped like a triangle. The Surinam toad has small eyes and no tongue or teeth. The fingers of its front legs are not webbed, but its hind feet have webbed toes.
The Surinam toad lives in the water and has rough, brown skin. At breeding time, the skin of the female Surinam toad grows thick and spongy. The female lays her eggs while she and her mate turn over in the water. The male fertilizes the eggs and places them in the skin of the female’s back. There, the eggs develop into tiny toads. The Surinam toad does not have a tadpole stage as in most other toads and frogs. The toads come out of the skin when they are about 21/2 months old or older.
