Smooth-Sided Toad

(Rhaebo guttatus) is a large rainforest toad from South America. Unlike many bumpy-skinned toads, this species has relatively smooth skin, which is where it gets its common name.

Basic Facts

  • Scientific name: Rhaebo guttatus

  • Family: Bufonidae (true toads)

  • Size: About 4–7 inches (10–18 cm) long

  • Lifespan: Around 10–15 years in captivity

  • Native range: Northern South America (Brazil, Guyana, Suriname, Venezuela, Colombia, and parts of the Amazon Basin)

What They Look Like

Smooth-sided toads are usually brown, reddish-brown, or gray, sometimes with darker spots. Their bodies are thick and heavy, and they have large poison glands (parotoid glands) behind their eyes that can look slightly orange or yellow.

Despite their name, they’re not perfectly smooth — they just have much smoother skin than most other toads.

Habitat

These toads live in tropical rainforests, usually:

  • On the forest floor

  • Near streams or temporary pools

  • Hidden under logs or leaf litter

They prefer humid environments and are mostly active at night.

Diet

Smooth-sided toads are opportunistic predators, meaning they eat almost anything they can swallow.

Common foods include:

  • Insects

  • Beetles

  • Worms

  • Spiders

  • Small frogs

  • Occasionally small vertebrates

They sit and wait for prey, then snap it up with a quick tongue strike.

Defense and Toxins

Like many toads, they produce defensive toxins from their parotoid glands.

When threatened they may:

  • Inflate their body

  • Raise their head

  • Release toxins from the glands

These toxins can irritate predators' mouths and eyes, helping keep them safe.

Reproduction

During the rainy season, males call near water to attract females. After mating:

  • Females lay long strings of eggs in water.

  • Tadpoles hatch and live in the water until they transform into tiny toads.

Fun Fact

Smooth-sided toads are known to make a surprisingly loud call for such a heavy toad — a deep, resonant sound that carries through the rainforest at night.

✅ Did you know?
This species used to be classified in the genus Bufo, but scientists later moved it to Rhaebo after genetic studies showed it was different from many other toads.