|
| Query: sonoran desert toad | Result: 1st of 13 | |
Colorado River Toad (Bufo alvarius) - Wiki
| Subject: | Colorado River Toad (Bufo alvarius) - Wiki
| |
| Resolution: 502x398
File Size: 68473 Bytes
Upload Date: 2007:09:11 16:47:57
|
Colorado River Toad
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
[Photo] Sonoran Desert Toad, Bufo alvarius. URL: http://www.nps.gov/tont/nature/amphibians.htm Credits : National Park Service - Tonto National Monument
The Colorado River Toad or Bufo alvarius, also known as the Sonoran Desert Toad, is a psychoactive toad found in the Southwestern United States and northern Mexico. The skin and venom of Bufo alvarius contain 5-MeO-DMT and bufotenin.
Behavior
The Colorado River Toad is carnivorous, eating small rodents, insects, and small reptiles, including other toad species; like many toads, they have a long, sticky tongue which aids them in catching prey. It lives in both desert and semi-arid areas throughout the range of its habitat. They are semi-aquatic and are often found in streams, near springs, and in canals and drainage ditches. They often make their home in rodent's burrows and are nocturnal.
The toad generally breeds in small rain pools after the summer showers start; they spend approximately one month as yellowish-brown tadpoles before moving onto the land. They grow to be up to 4-7 inches long.
Venom
The toad's primary defense system is glands that produce a mild poison, appearing as tiny lumps on the skin that are often called "warts". These parotoid glands also produce the 5-MeO-DMT and bufotenin for which the toad is known; both of these chemicals belong to the family of hallucinogenic tryptamines. The presence of these substances in the skin and venom of the toad produces psychoactive effects when smoked.
Alkaloids in Dried Venom
5-MeO-DMT 15%
N,N-dimethyl-5-hydroxytrytamine (bufotenine)
5-methoxytryptophol
5-methoxyindoleacetic acid
5-hydroxytryptophol
5-hydroxyindoleacetic acid
N-methyl-5-methoxytryptamine
N-methyl-5-hydroxytryptamine
bufoviridine (N,N-dimethyl-5-hydroxytrytamine-O-sulfate)
5-hydroxytryptamine (serotonin)
enteramine
thrombocytin
thrombotonin
N-methyl-serotonin
tryptophan
bufotalindin
hellebrigenin (a bufogenin - cardioactive sterol)
To gather these chemicals, the venom is milked from the toad's parotoid glands, a process that does not harm the toad. The toad takes about a month to refill its venom glands following the milking procedure, during which time the toad will not produce venom. The venom has frequently been used for recreational use and has been declared a sacrament by the Church of the Toad of Light in the US. This animal is commonly bred in the midwestern and southwestern areas of the U.S. and sold as a pet.
As a result of extensive habitat loss and pesticide use Bufo alvarius and other amphibian species are dwindling both in population size and density.
There is no current federal law or legislation which prohibits the selling or distribution of Bufo alvarius.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Colorado_River_Toad
| The text in this page is based on the copyrighted Wikipedia article shown in above URL. It is used under the GNU Free Documentation License. You may redistribute it, verbatim or modified, providing that you comply with the terms of the GFDL. |
|
Comments |
|---|
| | Guest |
|
| SWEET |
| | Guest |
|
| LOVE |
| | Guest |
|
| PEACE |
^o^
Animal Pictures Archive for smart phones
^o^
|
|
|
