Order: Anura

Family: Bufonidae

 

Size:  up to 20 cm in length

Weight: up to 36-45 g

 

Key Features: Heavy body appears obese and is covered with the characteristic “warts” of a toad. Black marks on the end of these “warts” give the toad the alternative name “Black-spined Toad”. Color can vary from gray to brown to yellow, sometimes with reddish markings. Head has very large parotid glands behind the eyes and distinct black ridges connecting the eyes to the nose and glands. Legs are relatively short and feet are only half-webbed. Underside is white, sometimes with dark blotching.

 

Voice: low trill that has been described as “curr curr curr”.

 

Breeding:  common toads breed in still and slow-flowing rivers and temporary and permanent ponds and pools. It breeds during the monsoons and the tadpoles are black. Young toads may be seen in large numbers after the monsoons. Males have a subgular vocal sac and black pads on the inner fingers that help in holding the female during copulation. Breeding males have a throat that is yellow orange d the inner side of the first and second fingers have nuptial pads. A study by Mogali et al. (2011) illustrates that tadpoles of Asian common toads will emerge at different times and sizes with the presence of predators. When predators are present tadpoles will decrease in body mass up to 46% and metamorphosis will occur earlier

 

Diet: feed on a wide range of invertebrates including scorpions.

 

Habitat: It is mainly a species of disturbed lowland habitats, from upper beaches and riverbanks to human-dominated agricultural and urban areas. It is uncommon in closed forests. It breeds in still and slow-flowing rivers and temporary and permanent ponds and pools. Adults are terrestrial and may be found under ground cover (eg. rocks, leaf-litter, logs), and are also associated with human habitations. The larvae are found in still and slow-moving water bodies.

 

Habits: Adults are terrestrial and may be found under ground cover such as rocks, leaf-litter, logs, and are also associated with human habitations. The larvae are found in still and slow-moving water bodies.  They are often seen at night under street lamps especially in times when winged termites swarm.

 

Conservation Status: Least Concern on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species.

 

 

 

 

 

References:

 Boulenger, G. A. (1890). Reptilia and Batrachia. Fauna of British India. London: Taylor and Francis. pp. 505–507.

 

Berry, P. Y.; Bullock, J. A. (1962). "The Food of the Common Malayan Toad, Bufo melanostictus Schneider". Copeia 1962 (4): 736–741.

IUCN Red List (2014). http://www.iucnredlist.org/details/54707/0

 

Mogali, S., Saidapur, S., & Shanbhag, B. (2011). Levels of Predation Modulate Antipredator Defense Behavior and Metamorphic Traits in the Toad Bufo melanostictus. Journal of Herpetology, 45/4: 428-431.

 

Saidapur, S. & Girish, S. (2001). Growth and Metamorphosis of Bufo melanostictus Tadpoles: Effects of Kinship and Density. Journal of Herpetology, 35/2: 249- 254.

 

Photo Courtesy

Lokionly, Licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons