The Uncanny X-Toads

Toxic Mutant Toads Rule Australia

from Sploid

The cane toad army is marching across Australia, advancing 30 miles each year. Authorities are concerned, to say the least.

The monstrous beasts, Bufo marinus, some now approaching five pounds, were first brought to the island nation in 1935.

They were set loose like a band of rampaging mercenaries on the beetles that were attacking sugar cane crops. Now it appears the cure may be worse than the illness.

Their empire spans over 300,000 square miles. They eat almost everything in their path. What they don't eat, they poison.

They kill snakes, lizards, water birds, crocodiles and dingos. When the toads are attacked, they secrete poisonous toxins from the sacs behind their heads. Death comes in minutes.

The threat they present has evolved along with their freakishly long legs, which allow them to cover more ground than any other toad on Earth.

"We find that toads with longer legs can not only move faster and are the first to arrive in new areas, but also that those at the front have longer legs than toads in older populations," warned Richard Shine of the University of Sydney.

The deadly mutation allows the killer amphibians to travel five times faster than their predecessors.

Researchers say that a counter-strike must be launched "as soon as possible, before the invader has time to evolve into a more dangerous adversary."

But it may already be too late. Just the otehr day guards spotted one of their numbers making a move on Parliament.