The #LarryPothead #parody novel I am working will include a fictitious #herpetology species description in the appendices for _Bufo celeri_ --- a species of toad very close to the Red-spotted Toad (Anaxyrus punctatus) pictured here:
https://www.naherp.com/viewrecord.php?r_id=280977
🧵 1/n +
The genus _Bufo_ will be used for fictitious species description because the date predates the moving of many North American toads into the genus _Anaxyrus_ so _Bufo_ is more appropriate for description.
The species morphologically very close to the Red-spotted Toad except the parotid gland is a vibrant blue as recent metamorphs, fading a bit into adulthood but still visible.
The species is also much faster on land than the Red-spotted Toad.
🧵 2/n +
Another difference, its reproduction has adapted to have far fewer eggs in a string, speculated as a counter-measure for the short-lived ephemeral streams where it breeds, so that oxygen levels do not get too low and ammonia levels do not get too high as the streams stop flowing and start to dry up.
The secretion of these toads tastes like fried onions with a hint of garlic and is hallucinogenic but causes vomiting if too much is licked.
🧵 3/n +
The species is only found at a few undisclosed locations in the Sonoran Desert.
The species description was rejected by herpetology magazines because the describer refused to provide either a type specimen or type locality, for fear that people would mass-collect it into extinction for the hallucinogenic effect.
🧵 4/4 end spoiler
Alice Wonder