20 January 2023 , 10:31
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A potentially world record-breaking monster toad has been found that's six times the average size - and dubbed 'Toadzilla'.
The cane toad is so big wildlife rangers suspected it was fake after coming across it in a north Australian rainforest.
The 2.7kg amphibian was removed from the wild.
The current Guinness World Record for the largest toad is 2.65kg, set by a pet toad in Sweden in 1991.
It is believed 'Toadzilla' bulked up by binging on insects, reptiles and small mammals.
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Toads first came to Australia in 1935 and have become one of the country's most damaging pests.
They are estimated to number in the hundreds of millions.
Ranger Kylee Gray with the big toad (Department of Environment and Science QLD)
Kylee said it looked like a football with legs (Department of Environment and Science QLD)Ranger Kylee Gray couldn't believe it when she first spotted the big toad - which is thought to be female.
She told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation: "I've never seen anything so big."
"[It looked] almost like a football with legs. We dubbed it Toadzilla.
"A cane toad that size will eat anything it can fit into its mouth," she added.
Cane toads can live for around 15 years and while Kylee isn't sure how old Toadzilla is.
The species has no natural predators in Australia.
The poisonous variety have wreaked havoc on native animals.
Unfortunately, Toadzilla was euthanised, as is standard practice for the pests.
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Her body has been donated to the Queensland Museum.