Suriname toads are members of the frog genus Pipa, within the family Pipidae. They are native to northern South America and extreme southern Central America (Panama). Like other pipids, these frogs are almost exclusively aquatic.
There are seven recognized species:
In addition, Pipa verrucosa <small>Wiegmann, 1832</small> is included here incertae sedis.
During reproduction the female Pipa frog will rise to the surface of the water with the male and after a series of movements the male fertilizes the eggs of the female. The male then places the eggs on the females back with its feet. The female Pipa frog will then incubate the eggs in the dorsal (its back). The tadpoles then develop in the dorsal of the female.