cane toad

noun

: a large, brownish, poisonous toad (Rhinella marina synonym Bufo marinus) native to Central and South America, Mexico, and extreme southern Texas and introduced into other tropical and subtropical areas (such as Australia) where it has become an invasive species

Cane toads are seen as a major threat to biodiversity, not only because they voraciously out-compete some native species for food and consume others, but also because their skin toxins are thought to kill carnivorous predators which mistake them for local amphibians.

—Sheila Lunter

called also giant toad, marine toad

Example Sentences

Recent Examples on the Web

Australia has no natural predators or diseases that can control cane toad numbers. —Will Sullivan, Smithsonian Magazine, 23 Jan. 2023

Now, Daniel Florance from the University of Sydney has found a clever way of corralling the cane toad invasion. —Ed Yong, Discover Magazine, 22 Feb. 2011

The record was set in March 1991 by a cane toad owned by a Swedish man. —Aina J. Khan, NBC News, 20 Jan. 2023

Australia's battle with the formidable cane toad is so legendary; it was even referenced in a Simpson's episode. —Discover Magazine, 29 June 2010

One of Frankenberg’s offshoot projects is an attempt to edit the DNA of native animals to develop resistance to cane toad poison. —Frances Vinall, Washington Post, 26 May 2022

Survival of the feces: Does a nematode lungworm adaptively manipulate the behavior of its cane toad host? —Christie Wilcox, Discover Magazine, 28 Apr. 2018

The bufo toad, also known as the cane toad, is a common summer sight in South Florida, but experts in the area believe the species is returning in larger numbers than in previous years. —Kyla Guilfoil, ABC News, 30 June 2022

Elsewhere in the lab sat a reminder of the impact humans have already had on Mother Nature: the cane toad. —Frances Vinall, Washington Post, 26 May 2022

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Word History

First Known Use

1955, in the meaning defined above

Medical Definition

cane toad

noun

: a large, brownish toad (Rhinella marina synonym Bufo marinus) that secretes a toxin poisonous especially to small animals and that is native to Central and South America, Mexico, and southernmost Texas but has become an invasive species in other warm regions (as Florida and Australia) where it was formerly introduced for insect control