They look and sound like venomous vipers. But don’t be fooled, because they’re not. They’re just your Congolese giant toads, which look like vipers when they display their backside, and sound like vipers when they hiss.
These toads (Sclerophyrs channingi) may be using mimicry to avoid becoming other animals’ lunch, researchers report October 20 in the Journal of Natural History.
If this is true, then this would be the first known case of a toad trying to mimic a poisonous snake.
More details over at Science News.
(Image Credit: Colin Tilbury)
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how do you do, fellow vipers
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