First there was toadzilla. Now, a Queenslander has spied another amphibian mutant — a five-legged toad.
Michael Messenger was sitting outside his home west of Ipswich one night when "this thing came bouncing out of the plants".
"It had an extra part," he said.
"It just looked like a normal toad except it had a leg as a tail.
"I don't think [the extra leg] has any function, it just drags behind, but it looks weird."
Described as "about the size of a hand", the toad defied Mr Messenger's attempts to catch it and euthanase it in the freezer, despite the fifth appendage having no discernible use.
Macquarie University professor Rick Shine, who has researched toads, was not shocked to hear about the mutation.
"I have seen toads with five legs before. It's very rare," he said.
"In the course of research we've handled many thousands of toads, I've prob seen it two or three times myself."
Dr Shine said an accident or injury to the embryo during development was the cause of the strange defect.
"While it's an embryo, the limb bud could get split into two and end up producing two legs," he said.
"It's something that happens with frogs more often.
"Other animals have babies in utero or in eggs so they're protected, but tadpoles aren't. The tadpole is swimming around in the open and usually one parasite attacks the tadpole and injures the limb bud and you end up with two legs."
Dragging a fifth leg would make a small toad more vulnerable to prey, adding to the rarity of the sightings, Dr Shine said.
