European green toad

European green toad
Scientific classification
Kingdom:Animalia
Phylum:Chordata
Class:Amphibia
Order:Anura
Family:Bufonidae
Genus:Bufo
Species: B. viridis
Binomial name
Bufo viridis
Laurenti, 1768
Synonyms[1]
  • Bufo viridis
    Laurenti, 1768
  • Pseudepidalea viridis
    — Frost et al., 2006
  • Bufotes viridis
    — Frost, 2013

The European green toad (Bufo viridis) is a species of toad found in mainland Europe. It lives in many habitats, including steppes, mountainous areas, semi-deserts, and urban areas. The species comprises at least 12 major evolutionary lineages, and there are variations in the color and pattern of this toad across its range. The spots on the back vary from green to dark brown and sometimes red spots appear, too. The underside is white or very lightly coloured.

Mating call of the European green toad

The European green toad will change colour in response to heat and light changes. Females are larger than males and can lay 9,000 to 15,000 eggs at a time.

It can reach a maximum size (head and body length) of 10 cm (about 4 inches), but growth to this size is rare.[2]

Diet

Bufo viridis eats a variety of insects and invertebrates, mainly crickets, meal worms, small butterflies, earthworms, moths, beetles and caterpillars. There has also been a reported attack on a bat.[3]


References

  1. ↑ "Bufotes viridis ". Amphibian Species of the World 6.0, an Online Reference. American Museum of Natural History. research.amnh.org/vz/herpetology/amphibia.
  2. ↑ Arnold EN, Burton JA (1978). A Field Guide to the Reptiles and Amphibians of Britain and Europe. London: Collins. 272 pp. ISBN 0 00 219318 3. (Bufo viridis, p. 74 + Plate 8 + Map 33).
  3. ↑ Mikula P (2015). "Fish and amphibians as bat predators". European Journal of Ecology. 1 (1): 71–80. doi:10.1515/eje-2015-0010.
  • Colliard, C.; Sicilia, A.; Turrisi, G.F.; Arculeo, M.; Perrin, N.; Stöck, M. (2010). "Strong reproductive barriers in a narrow hybrid zone of West-Mediterranean green toads (Bufo viridis subgroup) with Plio-Pleistocene divergence". BMC Evolutionary Biology. 10: 232. doi:10.1186/1471-2148-10-232. PMC 2923517. PMID 20670415.
  • Stöck, Matthias; Craig Moritz; Michael Hickerson; Daniel Frynta; Tatjana Dujsebayeva; Valery Eremchenko; J. Robert Macey; Theodore J. Papenfuss; David B. Wake (2006). "Evolution of mitochondrial relationships and biogeography of Palearctic green toads (Bufo viridis subgroup) with insights in their genomic plasticity". Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution. 41 (3): 663–689. doi:10.1016/j.ympev.2006.05.026. PMID 16919484.
  • Stöck, Matthias; Alessandra Sicilia; Natalia M Belfiore; David Buckley; Sabrina Lo Brutto; Mario Lo Valvo; Marco Arculeo (2008). "Post-Messinian evolutionary relationships across the Sicilian channel: Mitochondrial and nuclear markers link a new green toad from Sicily to African relatives". BMC Evolutionary Biology. 8: 56. doi:10.1186/1471-2148-8-56. ISSN 1471-2148. OCLC 47657384. PMC 2276203. PMID 18294389.
  • "IUCN Red List - Pseudepidalea viridis (green toad)". Retrieved 2009-09-12.

Further reading

  • Laurenti JN (1768). Specimen medicum, exhibens synopsin reptilium emendatam cum experimentis circa venena et antidota reptilium austriacorum. Vienna: "Joan. Thom. Nob. de Trattnern". 214 pp. + Plates I-V. (Bufo viridis, new species, p. 27 + Plate I, figure 1). (in Latin).


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