Toad Reed: habitat, description, photo

Perhaps, after reading the word "toad" in the title of our article, someone will fretfully disgust. One mention of this amphibian in many people causes extremely unpleasant associations: picking up this creature is unpleasant, because all the skin in his "warts", and in general the appearance is not the most pleasant. But we hasten to assure you that this is not so. If you look closely at the toad, then you can even feel sympathy for this animal.

Today in the world there are more than three hundred species of toads - water, climbing night, viviparous. But today the hero of our article will be the most little-known cane toad. This species is widespread in Western Europe, and in the territories of the republics of the former Soviet Union is found only in the Baltic, northwestern Ukraine and western Belarus.

Reed Toad: description

It is an amphibian, belonging to the numerous genus Toads (Bufo). Sometimes it is also called a toad smell (Bufo calamita). It belongs to the order of the tailless. The toad, whose photo is not very common in animal publications, is a typical representative of his family, who lives on almost every continent, except for Australia.

It can not be said that this is a big toad. This is a very small animal. Usually there are individuals about five centimeters long. Toads eight centimeters or more in length are extremely rare.

External Features

Toad Reed has an interesting color. Its back is painted in light gray-olive color. It is covered with numerous dark spots. The light stripe that runs along the middle of the back and head distinguishes this amphibian from the green toad, which is now widely distributed.

The skin is tuberculate, but without thorns. This distinguishes it from frogs, in which the skin is perfectly smooth and protected from drying by slime. The skin of a reed toad is covered with numerous single small glands, releasing a poisonous substance. Two more large glands are located near the ears. They are called parotides.

The abdomen is painted in a gray-white hue. The pupils of the eyes are arranged horizontally. The males of this species of toads have powerful throat resonators, thanks to which they are audible at a great distance. The second and inner finger have approximately the same dimensions. Males and females differ in the color of the throat - in females it is colored white, and in males - in purple.

Protection from enemies

It is not by chance that the cane toad received by nature such a modest coloration and poisonous glands. This is the only defense of these sluggish animals in the struggle for existence. Sensing the danger, the reed toad tries to escape, but when she fails to do so, in fear she pulls off her skin and becomes covered with a white foamy liquid that has an extremely unpleasant smell.

In order not to become the prey of a badger, a raven or a raccoon dog, a toad should be virtually invisible. If the predator still managed to notice the amphibian, and grab it, then he will not be envied. A lump of poisonous glands reflexively secretes substances with a hideous pungent smell, a very bitter taste, providing a vomiting effect - you must agree that such a "delicacy" can be tempted only by a very hungry predator. To man, the toxic substances released by the glands do not cause any harm and do not cause the appearance of warts (the most common misconception).

Habitat

We have already said that the reed toad is common in Europe, in the east and the north its area reaches the UK, it is found in the south of Sweden, in western Belarus, in the north-west of Ukraine, in the Baltic States. On the territory of our country, it can be seen only in the Kaliningrad region.

He prefers to live in the lowlands. Loves sandy light soils on well-warmed by the sun, dry and open areas. Inhabits the sandy banks of rivers, reservoirs, lakes, overgrown with herbaceous vegetation and shrubs, settles on heath waste.

You can see this toad in the meadows, at the edge of the forest, in the logging, where it hides under the trunks of trees, stacked. Toad reed feels comfortable on farmland (with loose soils). And in the Pyrenees, it rises to a height of more than two and a half thousand meters above sea level.

Behavior in vivo

After winter, the reed toad is active at the end of April. As a rule, it is active during twilight, it rarely shows activity in the daytime, usually it occurs in cloudy weather.

During the rest period (in winter), it hides in burrows or other shelters - in natural niches, under rocks, in earth cracks, sometimes burrows into the soil. The basis of the diet is insects. During reproduction, almost does not eat. Sexual maturity comes to four years. Life expectancy is fifteen years.

For the winter, the cane toad leaves at the end of August, when the air temperature drops to 10 ° C.

What does a reed toad eat?

Reed frogs prefer to feed on creeping invertebrates: ants, beetles, snails, worms and others.

This toad (the photo you see below) is one of the few among your "relatives" who pursue their victim. Sensing the prey, she quickly turns to her side and grabs her with her mouth.

Reproduction

The reed frog breeds in shallow heated standing water bodies, densely overgrown with vegetation. Sometimes the female lays eggs in brackish reservoirs. For reproduction, a water temperature of at least +18 ° C is required. This period lasts from the second half of April until the very end of July. Mass spawning mainly takes place in May or June.

Usually during the day at this time the individuals are at the bottom of the reservoir. The crocheted cords have a width of five millimeters at a length of 1.6 meters. In rare cases, their length can reach 3.2 m. They are at a shallow depth (no more than 20 cm). Eggs with a diameter of 1.6 mm are arranged in two rows. At one time the female is able to postpone up to 5250 eggs.

Larvae grow to 8.5 mm. Development lasts 55 days. The toad of the toad before metamorphosis grows to 28 mm. They feed on detritus, protozoa, phytoplankton and small crustaceans.

Toads of this species grow very slowly. When a tadpole becomes small, but a brisk toad, the animal exits the pond. Young specimens that have just landed on land, in length only 1 centimeter. They very cleverly climb, pressing the abdomen.

Number of

In the post-Soviet space, the cane toad lives on the eastern edge of the range. This species is distributed extremely unevenly. In some regions, its abundance is quite high, while in others there is a decline in numbers and a decrease in habitats.

Occurs in the territory of some reserves. This species is protected by the Bern Convention (annex II). In many countries is a rare species of the reed toad. The Red Book of the USSR, as well as the Red Books of Belarus, Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia and Russia have amphibianed their security lists. Ecology of this species has been studied at the present time insufficiently.

Reed Toad: Interesting Facts

This toad is not able to jump well, like frogs, because it has shorter hind legs. Her jumps can not be called neither high nor long.

The toad of this species is a very bad swimmer, so much so that if you get into a deep pond, it can easily drown.

But she masterfully can climb a stump or get out of a deep pit. In addition, it easily creeps along the inclined trunk of the tree, but only if the core has at least a slight roughness.

And one more interesting fact. The cane toad moves very interestingly: it does not crawl, does not jump, but runs, and on all four legs, amusingly bending the back. In this way it resembles a mouse-like rodent, and not a tailless amphibian.

The cane toad is awarded the title of the loudest toad in the world. The frequency of sounds produced by males during the mating season reaches one and a half thousand hertz.

Sometimes reed frogs choose to swallow nests of swallows on sandy beaches for wintering. In a mink some toads can settle.