New Toad Rhinella yunga Found in 'Warm Valleys' of Peruvian Andes

Researchers have described a new species of toad that lives under dead leaves in the Peruvian Yungas.

The toad Rhinella yunga was named after its habitat the Peruvian Yungas- the word loosely translates to "warm valley" in English.

The newly baptized toad species belongs to the family of Bufonidae. Toads are known for their thick, warty skin. Bufonidae has 34 genera and can be found all over the world except certain regions of Australia.

Toads also have large poison parotoid glands on the back of their heads. They release the poison when they are stressed. Also, male toads can become females; they have unique organ that has testes, but can convert into ovaries if the testes is removed.

Rhinella yunga has a unique color that resembles dead foliage. The toad also has bony protrusions that help it look like dead leaves, securing its camouflage. The newly described toad also lacks a tympanic membrane, which is a round part of the hearing organ (think of it like the eardrum). The membrane is usually seen on both sides of a toad's head.

"It appears that large number of still unnamed cryptic species remains hidden under some nominal species of the Rhinella margaritifera species group", explained Dr Jiří Moravec, National Museum Prague, Czech Republic, according to a news release.

As stated above, toads can be poisonous, with some such as cane toad Rhinella marina being more poisonous than others. This toad has become one of 100 worst invasive species in the world.

The study is published in the journal Zookeys.