CreatureData

Common Surinam toad

Pipa pipa (Linnaeus, 1758)

LCLeast Concernfrogs and toads

The common surinam toad (Pipa pipa) is a species in the family Pipidae, order Anura. Recorded adults weigh about 200 g. Its IUCN Red List status is Least Concern.

Common Surinam toad (Pipa pipa)
Photo: User:Stan Shebs · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons

Quick facts about the common surinam toad

Weight
200 gsrc for Weight
Length
up to 17.1 cmsrc for Length
Lifespan
Not recorded
Diet
Carnivoresrc for Diet
Longest recorded lifespan
7.7 years
Main food
arthropods, vertebratessrc for Main food
Habitat
Not recorded
Young per litter or clutch
65 – 140src for Young per litter or clutch
Reproduction
Eggssrc for Reproduction
Active
At night (nocturnal)src for Active
Conservation status
Least Concern (IUCN)src for Conservation status
Countries on record
Not recorded

Where does the common surinam toad live?

Not recorded

What is the common surinam toad?

Quoted from WikipediaCC BY-SA 4.0

The common Surinam toad, the Suriname toad, or star-fingered toad (Pipa pipa), is a fully-aquatic species of frog, in the family Pipidae, with a widespread range across much of tropical South America and the island of Trinidad. The females of this species are well-known for "incubating" their eggs on their backs, in honeycomb-like depressions directly within the skin, releasing fully-formed froglets after a period of 4–5 months. Pipa pipa is an ambush predator, lying in-wait underwater for prey to inevitably wander too close, swiftly inhaling the unsuspecting creature using suction feeding. Additionally, the Surinam toad's rather flat body shape, combined with rather dark, dull coloration, serves as effective camouflage in the murky waters they inhabit, mimicking a dead leaf or piece of rotting wood as they await their next meal.

From the Wikipedia article “Common Surinam toad” (en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Common_Surinam_toad&oldid=1383735745), by Wikipedia contributors, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0). This block is kept separate from our own text.

Is the common surinam toad endangered?

The common surinam toad is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List: it is not currently at risk of extinction.

  1. LCLeast Concern
  2. NTNear Threatened
  3. VUVulnerable
  4. ENEndangered
  5. CRCritically Endangered
  6. EWExtinct in the Wild
  7. EXExtinct

Category via Wikidata (CC0). Find the full assessment on the IUCN Red List. See all Least Concern species. What the categories mean.

How is the common surinam toad classified?

  1. kingdomAnimalia
  2. phylumChordata
  3. classAmphibia
  4. orderAnura
  5. familyPipidae
  6. genusPipa
  7. SpeciesPipa pipa (Linnaeus, 1758)

Synonyms Asterodactylus dorsiger, Asterodactylus pipa, Buffo pipa, Bufo dorsiger, Bufo pipa, Leptopus asterodactylus, Pipa aevis, Pipa americana, Pipa cururu, Pipa curururu, Pipa dorsigera, Pipa pernigra, Pipa sedo, Pipa surinamensis, Pipa tedo, Rana dorsigera, Rana pipa

Other names and names in other languages (35)
  • Surinam toadEnglish
  • Surinam toadEnglish
  • Surinam toadEnglish
  • Suriname toadEnglish
  • Suriname toadEnglish
  • Surinamska krastačaBosnian
  • Calàpet de SurinamCatalan
  • pipa americkáCzech
  • Große WabenkröteGerman
  • AparoSpanish
  • Rana Comun De CeldillasSpanish
  • Rana TablachaSpanish
  • Sapo ChineloSpanish
  • Sapo CholaSpanish
  • Sapo De CeldasSpanish
  • Sapo de SurinamSpanish
  • Pipa américaineFrench
  • Pipa américaine (La)French
  • PipabékaHungarian
  • Սուրինամյան պիպաArmenian
  • ピパピパJapanese
  • コモリガエルJapanese
  • ピパJapanese
  • PipaDutch
  • Surinaamse padDutch
  • Grzbietoród amerykańskiPolish
  • Sapo-pipaPortuguese
  • Pipa-comumPortuguese
  • ПипаRussian
  • Американская пипаRussian
  • Суринамская пипаRussian
  • PipagrodaSwedish
  • คางคกซูรินาเมThai
  • Surinam KurbağasıTurkish
  • 負子蟾Chinese

Catalogue of LifeWikipediaiNaturalistTAXREFWikidataWoRMSIUCN Red List

Relatives of the common surinam toad

Other species in the same genus Pipa.

CompareCommon Surinam toad vs Carvalho's Surinam toadCommon Surinam toad vs Dwarf toadCommon Surinam toad vs Arrabal's Suriname toadCommon Surinam toad vs Albina Surinam toad

Common questions

Answered only where our data holds the answer.

How big is the common surinam toad?

An adult common surinam toad weighs 200 g, according to values recorded on Wikidata.

Is the common surinam toad endangered?

The common surinam toad is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List, meaning it is not currently at risk of extinction.

What does the common surinam toad eat?

Its recorded main food is arthropods and vertebrates.

What kind of animal is the common surinam toad?

The common surinam toad (Pipa pipa) belongs to the family Pipidae in the order Anura.

Sources and how to cite this page

Data as of 2026-11-11. How this page is put together.

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APA

CreatureData. (2026). Common Surinam toad (Pipa pipa). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/common-surinam-toad

MLA

“Common Surinam toad (Pipa pipa).” CreatureData, 2026, https://creaturedata.com/animals/common-surinam-toad.

BibTeX
@misc{common_surinam_toad_2026,
  title = {Common Surinam toad (Pipa pipa)},
  author = {{CreatureData}},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://creaturedata.com/animals/common-surinam-toad},
  note = {Data as of 2026-11-11}
}