Brown Slender Toad vs Common Duckweed

Ansonia leptopus compared with Lemna minor

Taxonomic Classification

Rank	Brown Slender Toad	Common Duckweed
Kingdom	Animalia (Animals)	Plantae (Plants)
Phylum	Chordata (Chordates)	Magnoliophyta (Flowering Plants)
Class	Amphibia (Amphibians)	Liliopsida (Monocots)
Order	Anura (Frogs & Toads)	Alismatales (Alismatales)
Family	Bufonidae	Araceae
Genus	Ansonia	Lemna
Species	Ansonia leptopus	Lemna minor

Conservation Status

Brown Slender Toad

LC — Least Concern

Common Duckweed

LC — Least Concern

Physical Characteristics

Attribute	Brown Slender Toad	Common Duckweed
Diet	—	—
Average Lifespan	—	—
Average Length	—	—
Average Weight	—	—

Habitat & Geographic Range

Brown Slender Toad

Habitat

Typically found in freshwater habitats, moist forests, and wetlands.

Common Duckweed

Habitat

Typically found in grasslands, wetlands, forests, and cultivated landscapes.

Range

Widely distributed across Europe (8 countries), North America (Canada, United States), Oceania and the Pacific (Australia), and South America (Brazil, Guyana).

Brown Slender Toad

The Brown Slender Toad (Ansonia leptopus) is a species in the genus Ansonia. It is currently classified as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List. Typically found in freshwater habitats, moist forests, and wetlands.

Common Duckweed

<em>Lemna minor</em>, commonly known as common duckweed, is a tiny floating aquatic plant in the family Araceae, recognized as one of the smallest flowering plants on Earth. Classified as Least Concern by the IUCN, the species enjoys a broad distribution across Europe, North America, Oceania, and South America, colonizing a diverse array of habitats including grasslands, wetlands, forests, and cultivated land with access to standing or slow-moving water. It typically inhabits ponds, lakes, ditches, and quiet streams, forming extensive green mats on the water surface. <em>Lemna minor</em> reproduces predominantly through asexual budding, allowing populations to expand rapidly under favorable conditions. The species provides vital ecosystem services, stabilizing nutrient cycles, reducing algal blooms through competition, and offering food and shelter for aquatic invertebrates, fish, and waterfowl. Due to its sensitivity to water quality, it is frequently used as a bioindicator in ecotoxicological research. Common duckweed has also attracted scientific interest for its potential in wastewater treatment and as a high-protein animal feed supplement. Biological traits of this species remain poorly documented in the scientific literature.