White Mega-toad
Location: China, Hubei province.
Time: 1962, 1987, two known sightings.
Some cryptids are made all the more incredible and unbelievable because they violate natural laws in some ways. The giant white toads sighted in China’s Hubei province are very problematic in this regard, mainly because no frog or toad is known to exceed a meter in length, while these odd sightings tell of massive toads bigger than people. Frogs and toads are believed to generally stay small because of their poorly ossified skeletons and small lungs. They breathe mainly through their wet slimy skin, and this becomes woefully inefficient at larger sizes.
The main sighting occurred in 1987, when scientists from the Peking University were aggressively confronted by enormous pallid toads, with mouths 6 feet across. These creatures emerged from deep mountain pools, advancing on the researchers nearby camp; one toad unfurled its tongue and swallowed a camera tripod. Subsequently the scientists fled for their lives. One argument for the veracity of this sighting is that university scientists would be reliable witnesses, and not intend to deceive or hoax such an event. This line of reasoning, giving most witnesses the benefit of the doubt, is common in cryptozoology. Many sceptics have pointed out that even the most reliable witnesses can misinterpret what they have seen, and that such sightings can be fabricated by people other than the witnesses themselves. This may be the case with this sighting; it could potentially be a mistranslation or an outright exaggeration or fabrication by the media. Possibly this stance is supported by the fact that the main witness, Professor Chen Mok Chun is not documented in any place other than the various reports of this toad experience.
If such an enormous toad existed, it would have to have various adaptations in order to support its massive size. So, the White Mega-toad (Albobufoides gigantean) is an amphibious relative of more common toads of the genus Bufo, but is remarkable in both its size, and its preference for deep pools of water. Measuring 1.9 meters long and 1.8 meters across, this toad is the largest Anuran to ever exist; accordingly its limbs, hips and skull are heavily ossified and massive, in order to carry its massive weight when it clambers about on land (it does not hop at all). Inhabiting well-watered mountain gorges, they will conceal themselves in deep pools or sinkholes in order to await passing prey. Somewhat like a crocodile, they will burst from the water and engulf their prey in their cavernous, very wide mouth. They are able to overpower and swallow animals as large as a small dog or fox, but they will take rat-sized prey far more often. These toads are able to respire cutaneously whilst underwater, and to breathe actively on land, thanks to their expansive lungs, which are unique for an amphibian. Calls are very distinctive, the males emit a very loud shriek to attract females during mating season (a similar call is used when alarmed or irritated), larger males will often become cannibals, eating smaller males.
Location: China, Hubei province.
Time: 1962, 1987, two known sightings.
Some cryptids are made all the more incredible and unbelievable because they violate natural laws in some ways. The giant white toads sighted in China’s Hubei province are very problematic in this regard, mainly because no frog or toad is known to exceed a meter in length, while these odd sightings tell of massive toads bigger than people. Frogs and toads are believed to generally stay small because of their poorly ossified skeletons and small lungs. They breathe mainly through their wet slimy skin, and this becomes woefully inefficient at larger sizes.
The main sighting occurred in 1987, when scientists from the Peking University were aggressively confronted by enormous pallid toads, with mouths 6 feet across. These creatures emerged from deep mountain pools, advancing on the researchers nearby camp; one toad unfurled its tongue and swallowed a camera tripod. Subsequently the scientists fled for their lives. One argument for the veracity of this sighting is that university scientists would be reliable witnesses, and not intend to deceive or hoax such an event. This line of reasoning, giving most witnesses the benefit of the doubt, is common in cryptozoology. Many sceptics have pointed out that even the most reliable witnesses can misinterpret what they have seen, and that such sightings can be fabricated by people other than the witnesses themselves. This may be the case with this sighting; it could potentially be a mistranslation or an outright exaggeration or fabrication by the media. Possibly this stance is supported by the fact that the main witness, Professor Chen Mok Chun is not documented in any place other than the various reports of this toad experience.
If such an enormous toad existed, it would have to have various adaptations in order to support its massive size. So, the White Mega-toad (Albobufoides gigantean) is an amphibious relative of more common toads of the genus Bufo, but is remarkable in both its size, and its preference for deep pools of water. Measuring 1.9 meters long and 1.8 meters across, this toad is the largest Anuran to ever exist; accordingly its limbs, hips and skull are heavily ossified and massive, in order to carry its massive weight when it clambers about on land (it does not hop at all). Inhabiting well-watered mountain gorges, they will conceal themselves in deep pools or sinkholes in order to await passing prey. Somewhat like a crocodile, they will burst from the water and engulf their prey in their cavernous, very wide mouth. They are able to overpower and swallow animals as large as a small dog or fox, but they will take rat-sized prey far more often. These toads are able to respire cutaneously whilst underwater, and to breathe actively on land, thanks to their expansive lungs, which are unique for an amphibian. Calls are very distinctive, the males emit a very loud shriek to attract females during mating season (a similar call is used when alarmed or irritated), larger males will often become cannibals, eating smaller males.