TRUE TOADS

Bufo bufo

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IUCN Red List Status: Least Concern (LC)

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TRUE TOADS

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Bufo bufo (Linnaeus, 1758) Bufo bufo (Linnaeus, 1758) Bufo bufo (Linnaeus, 1758) Bufo bufo Bufo bufo (Linnaeus, 1758) Bufo bufo Bufo bufo (Linnaeus, 1758) Bufo bufo Bufo bufo

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Description

Source and Additional Information
ARKive external link
 
Some rights reserved
Some rights reserved

The common toad is surrounded by a wealth of folklore and superstition (4). It can alter the tone of its skin to suit its surroundings; the upper surface may be brown, greenish or grey, and occasionally features dark markings. Females are often more reddish or brown than males. The underside is typically white or grey, and the eye, which has a horizontal pupil, is copper in colour. The most obvious feature that distinguishes this species from frogs is its warty skin; these dark warts secrete powerful toxins when the toad is harassed (2), and potential predators soon learn to avoid toads (5).

Source and Additional Information
AmphibiaWeb external link
 
Sergius L. Kuzmin

Parotoids behind the eyes are prominent. Pupil of the eye is horizontal. Tympanic membrane not visible. No male resonator. No tarsal fold. 2nd and 3rd toes with paired subarticular tubercles. Dorsal skin usually with rounded tubercles, sometimes with sharp top. Dorsal surface white-grayish, gray, brown or olive-brown with more or less developed darker spots. These spots are sometimes absent, sometimes fused into irregular longitudinal bands. Background coloration changes during the breeding season, becoming uniform. Belly light-gray or yellowish-gray with dark spots. Male differs from female in having nuptial pads on 1st finger (during the breeding season on 1st, 2nd and/or 3rd fingers), smaller body size and in some body proportions. In the Carpathian Mountains, sexual differences in toad breeding coloration have been described: males have uniform, light-greenish-brownish dorsal coloration, whereas females are more brown with dark-brown spots which sometime fuse into irregular longitudinal bands most distinct on the flanks.