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Toad is a common name for certain frogs, especially of the family Bufonidae, that are characterized by dry, leathery skin, short legs, and large bumps covering the parotoid glands. [ 1 ] [ 2 ] In popular culture ( folk taxonomy ), toads are distinguished from frogs by their drier, rougher skin and association with more terrestrial habitats. [ 3 ]
Song of Common toad or European toad, Bufo bufo. Common toad, female and male on her back. A true toad is any member of the family Bufonidae, in the order Anura (frogs and toads). This is the only family of anurans in which all members are known as toads, although some may be called frogs (such as harlequin frogs).
The common toad, European toad, or in Anglophone parts of Europe, simply the toad (Bufo bufo, from Latin bufo "toad"), is a toad found throughout most of Europe (with the exception of Ireland, Iceland, parts of Scandinavia, and some Mediterranean islands), in the western part of North Asia, and in a small portion of Northwest Africa.
Bufo is a genus of true toads in the amphibian family Bufonidae.As traditionally defined, it was a wastebasket genus containing a large number of toads from much of the world but following taxonomic reviews most of these have been moved to other genera, leaving only seventeen extant species from Europe, northern Africa and Asia in this genus, including the well-known common toad (B. bufo). [1]
A male common toad grasps a female with his front legs as part of the mating process. Common toads stay in amplexus for several days. As the female lays a long, double string of small black eggs , the male fertilises them with his sperm ; the gelatinous egg strings, which may contain 3000 to 6000 eggs and be 3 to 4.5 metres (10 to 15 ft) in ...
Adult western toads are preyed upon by common ravens (Corvus corax) and probably by other birds, reptiles, amphibians, and mammals as well. [15] [16] A badger (Taxidea taxus) was recorded as having consumed five adult Anaxyrus (probably western toad, as it was the only Anaxyrus species in the area) in Wyoming. [20]
The Iranian earless toad (B. surdus) is a fairly small and plain-coloured species that has no visible tympanum [10]. Most Bufotes species, including all in mainland Europe, have upperparts that are pale to medium brownish, brownish-olive, greyish or cream and with a usually conspicuous pattern of irregularly shaped darker spots that are green or greenish-olive in colour.
The toads are believed to have moved into North America from South American countries due to a changing climate. They most likely moved into the U.S. as a single species, but split up as they spread across the continent and adapted to their new surroundings. The toads prefer marsh-like environments, but only enter the water to breed.