Toad-midwife is an interesting animal

Many of us do not like toads, because they have a repulsive appearance and they are unpleasant to take in hands. And it is unlikely that anyone will dare to do this, except for amateurs of these amphibians. But in vain. Representatives of this species have something to surprise a person. Among them, many unusual and interesting individuals. This includes a toad-midwife.

Appearance

Outwardly, she looks like her kindred. Although, of course, it has individual characteristics that make it possible to distinguish it from other toads. Like all members of this family, her skin is dry and warty. Its color is ashen-gray with olive spots. Toad-midwife has a small head with large eyes, with closed eyelids. In length these animals reach 5.5 centimeters. These animals have eardrums and hear well. Also distinguish colors and smells. Warts on the body of the frog are not just for a reason. These are the glands that secrete poisonous mucus at the time of danger. If someone tries to eat it, it will certainly get poisoned. Sometimes such daredevils from the animal world even die.

Where does he live and what does he eat?

Its place of habitation is land. It prefers a mountainous surface that allows this creature to hide under the stones during the daytime. Also this amphibian can burrow into the soil or hide in a burrow or pit. Still these toads settle near the rivers and lakes with pure water. You can meet them in the forest. Usually they are found in Western Europe, Germany, France, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Great Britain, Belgium, Switzerland. They feed on amphibians worms, slugs, flies, caterpillars, spiders, mochritsami. They hunt them at night, sitting motionless and waiting for their prey. From October to March, this amphibian is hibernating.

Toads are different

There are several species of these amphibians. For example, in central Spain, southern and eastern Portugal is inhabited by the Iberian toad-toad. It has a brownish with dark spots and a dirty white belly. He is able and likes to dig holes. Provincial toad-midwife has a whitish or grayish color with dark spots. He prefers living in ponds, ponds, swamps, pastures, forests. It is considered a rare species and is protected in regional territories.

You will not often find a balearic toad-midwife. Scientists have proved that the range of its habitat is gradually decreasing. Currently, this species lives in the mountainous part of. Mallorca, where it is always hot and dry. It is small, only 3.5-3.8 centimeters long amphibian, has a smooth skin, a dark green or golden yellow color, and a black triangle on the occipital part of the head. Its body is flattened, so the balearic toad penetrates into the narrow cracks between the stones in the caves where she lives. From other midwives, it is distinguished by the fact that reproduction does not take place on land, but in puddles left after the rain.

Why is it so called

Special attention should be paid to the reproduction of the toad-toad. After all, it is precisely the way in which it occurs that it owes its name. To mate with the female, the male makes melodic sounds, sitting in his burrow. This gentle singing attracts the lady and she comes close to the house in which she is waiting for the gentleman. Without wasting time, the male climbs on the back of the female, clasps her body with the front paws, and the rear inserts between her hind legs. In this position, it is convenient for him to immediately fertilize the eggs, after the female individual has postponed them. Usually its masonry consists of two ribbons containing 20-60 eggs. After pairing the male with the help of the hind legs reels these cords on their hips. On this he does not stop, but continues to search. Mating takes place on land. Fertilizing this way, another 2-3 females, he continues to lead a normal lifestyle.

Care for the offspring

About that with caviar nothing bad happened, the male takes care. He wears it on himself, periodically moisturizing in a pond. If he is scared, he can lose eggs or lose it while traveling. But nature itself took care that the masonry was kept intact for the entire incubation period. The toads of the eggs are covered with a dense shell, which protects them from drying out. Even in lost eggs, development continues. After 3-4 weeks, the toad-toad, the photo of which is presented in this article, goes to the pond. There she actively swims, so that all the tadpoles hatched, and then she takes the ribbons off her body and returns to the land. Since the reproduction of these amphibians does not depend on any season, and mating can occur in any of them, it may turn out that the larvae do not have time to turn into an adult until the spring. Then they are buried in the mud and winter at the bottom of the pond. It is interesting that at the tadpole stage the toad-midwife can spend quite a long time until there are favorable conditions for the transformation, for example, a rise in the temperature of the water.

This is how the amphibian conducts his life. Very unusual looks with caviar on the paws of a toad-toad. Interesting facts gathered at different times indicate that these creatures came to England due to the fact that they were accidentally brought there along with the plants. In the Pyrenees mountains they live at an altitude of 1.5-2 thousand meters. From other amphibians they are distinguished by a thick round tongue. So you should not disdain the toads-midwives. They are very interesting animals and are able to care for their offspring like no other.