JQCQTA

Researchers in central Queensland say increasing numbers of mutated cane toads with extra legs and eyes are being found in the Gladstone area.

Dr Scott Wilson from Rockhampton's CQ University says while mutations normally occur in about 1 per cent of the cane toad population, Gladstone is a hotspot. "In all populations, whether it be frogs or toads, there’s normal mutations," he said."What we do [is] look at the types of abnormalities we’re seeing in the toads, and that means if they have extra limbs or extra eyes or missing eyes or missing limbs or maybe skeleton deformation."The highest we found is up to 20 per cent at some locations, but on average, for Gladstone it’s more like 6 to 8 per cent.