Australian park rangers say 'Toadzilla' could be world's biggest toad - Reuters

SYDNEY, Jan 20 (Reuters) - Australian parkland rangers judge they person stumbled upon a record-breaking elephantine toad heavy successful a rainforest.

Dubbed "Toadzilla", the cane toad, an invasive taxon that poses a menace to Australia's ecosystem, was spotted by "shocked" parkland ranger Kylee Gray during a patrol successful Conway National Park successful Queensland authorities connected Jan. 12.

Gray and her colleagues caught the carnal and brought it backmost to their office, wherever it weighed successful astatine a 2.7 kg (6 pounds).

Guinness World Records lists the largest toad astatine 2.65 kg (5.8 pounds), a 1991 grounds acceptable by a Swedish pet.

“We considered naming her Connie aft Conway National Park but Toadzilla was the 1 that conscionable kept getting thrown retired there, truthful that benignant of stuck,” Gray told authorities broadcaster ABC connected Friday.

Gray’s colleague, elder parkland ranger Barry Nolan, told Reuters the carnal was euthanised owed to its “ecological impact” — the accustomed destiny for the toads crossed Australia.

Cane toads were introduced to Australia successful 1935 to power cane beetles and different pests but their colonisation exploded and with nary earthy predators they person go a menace to Australian species, Nolan said.

“A pistillate cane toad similar perchance Toadzilla would laic up to 35,000 eggs. So their capableness to reproduce is rather staggering. And each parts of the cane toad’s breeding rhythm are poisonous to Australian autochthonal species, truthful prevention is simply a large portion of however we request to negociate them,” helium said.

Toadzilla’s assemblage was donated to the Queensland Museum for research.

Reporting by James Redmayne and Joseph Campbell Editing by Alasdair Pal, Robert Birsel

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