Toad gray: a way of life, reproduction, photo, description

The gray toad, the description of which is presented in the article, is the largest toad in Europe. Scientists have long shown interest in this amphibian.

Appearance

The color of it varies. The back can be from brown-gray to brown with black spots. The tummy has a color from dirty white to yellow. In rare cases, you can meet toads with red warts on their backs.

The frog's body itself is wide and slightly flattened. There are no resonators in males. Skin covers dry and tuberous. Also on the skin there is a small amount of glands that secrete mucus. This feature allows toads to save water and do not dry out at a considerable distance from water. Amphibians of this species perfectly tolerate the loss of moisture up to 30 percent of the body weight, this is due to evaporation during the hot time of the day. And every morning during the fall of dew, the toads are washed, replenishing their moisture reserves.

The eyes are amphibian orange with horizontal black pupils. Also there is a third eyelid, which allows the toad to see well underwater.

The gray toad, the photo of which is presented in the article, has a poisonous secret. It is activated in danger, stands out from the hillocks behind the eyes.

Language is very interesting. It fits in the joint in front of the mouth. It is controlled by instinct. He reacts to any movement that falls under the appropriate production parameters. The language is pink. Sticky, which makes it even better to keep food.

The forelimbs serve to capture prey. And also for keeping the male on the female during mating. They do not have membranes. Swimming eardrums are available only on the hind legs. They are much stronger and longer than the forelimbs.

Gray toad: reproduction

The breeding season falls on April-May. And lasts from 3 to 6 days. Everything starts from the moment of awakening from hibernation. Males arrive to the reservoir and occupy a certain territory, which is protected from encroachments by rivals. Then they begin to call the female with a lingering croak. The females usually appear two weeks later at the breeding site. When a gray toad chooses his chosen one, he goes to his territory, and he climbs up on her back. It is fixed on it with the help of its front short and thick legs. During the reproduction period, the membranes between the fingers of the male are colored in a more intense dark color. Only 1 male can coexist with each female. This happens in shallow places where they can spend hours under water at the bottom, surfacing just to replenish their air reserves. Male front legs clasps the hind legs of the female and at the same time produces grunting sounds and trills. After some time, adults leave the pond. There remains only the largest male to protect the offspring.

Eggs and Tadpoles

The spawning begins on a warm, sunny day. Female can produce from 600 to 4 thousand eggs. But out of this amount of litter, 2-3 individuals survive to the reproductive age. Caviar resembles cords that are wound around plants in water, on various branches and so on.

The incubation period takes 10 days. Tadpoles are in large flocks of their own kind, which increases their chance of survival. They are not frightened all in a row, only strong bursts and fluctuations in water, as well as the death of a tribesman in the teeth of a predator. The next three months their life will depend only on the presence of mosquitoes and water temperature. Then the young toads will leave the place of their birth. Their size is not more than 1 cm.

Features of behavior

Ordinary, or gray, a toad is by nature a loner and lives in dry places: forest, park, garden, etc. And only during the breeding season amphibians make an exception, descending to the water. These amphibians are night inhabitants. In the daytime, they prefer to hide in the roots of trees, under blocks of stones, in grass, mink, in general, in any secluded, dark, quiet corner. Very active in rainy weather, especially at night. Because of their large size, they move very slow and awkward steps, and when they jeopardize their lives they jump or are inflated and stand in a protective aggressive pose.

Food

Each amphibian has its own small habitat, which they thoroughly search for food. These amphibians feed on invertebrates: bugs, bugs, worms, caterpillars, even newborn lizards, snakes and mice, and their favorite dish is bare slugs. The extraction is seen at a distance of up to three meters. They hunt with their tongue, to which the victim sticks. If it is large, the toad helps itself with the help of the front paws. Gray toads are very voracious, but even this fact does not allow them to eat dead animals.

Interesting experience

Toad gray, whose lifestyle is very interested in scientists, was a participant of an interesting experience. His goal was to identify aggression and hostility towards his relatives. The essence of the experience is quite simple. Next to the toad, put a sheet of honey. He lures insects. A large congestion caused the interest of another toad. And she came to someone else's territory. The hostess did not react to it at all. The two of them began to enjoy themselves at ease. And even when they hunted the same insect, and one took away prey from another, this did not affect their external behavior in any way. They continued to eat quietly. This experience indicates that these are very peaceful and non-conflicting amphibians.

Toad gray - a pet?

Gray toads are very easy to tame. They are gullible and unpretentious in food. For them, the main indicator of food edibility is its mobility. They are also excellent helpers on the plot.

Hibernation

Toad gray among its relatives is the most resistant to cold. Hibernates only in September and October. Winter experiences in various places: under dry foliage, under logs, in pipes, sometimes burrows into mud or it pulls mink by itself (which happens very rarely). In general, frogs use foreign mink for wintering. When the gray toad climbs into the burrow, it blocks the entrance to the ground, which prevents cold from getting outside. The amphibians are awoken at the end of March, at a temperature not lower than +5 degrees Celsius. Then they go to the breeding grounds.

Natural enemies

Enough of her enemies: it's birds of prey, and snakes, hedgehogs, and rats. But the worst enemy is man. For many people the gray toad is ugly, useless and even harmful animal. But this view is far from reality. Of course, they do not shine with their beauty. They are poisonous, but this is only for protection purposes. After all, they simply can not physically escape from their enemies. Because their nature has made them large and slow. Therefore, they compensated for their physical deficiencies with poisonous glands on the body. And from the point of view of the benefits for man, a toad is a very useful neighbor. It can eat up to 60% of pests in the garden and vegetable garden. The gray toad is a very valuable and useful ally for a person, although not the most beautiful. But because of her nightlife, it's not scary.

Myths and truths

There are many legends about toads, which are based on their ability to excrete poison. And this serves as a confirmation that the potions that the witches, sorcerers or vedennes cooked always contained part of the toad (its paw, for example). And that's why most people are afraid and kill toads. But this is far from justified violence. Yad frogs, hitting the undamaged skin of a person, will not do much harm. Only when it gets into the mucous membranes and the damaged skin can it cause irritation, redness and slight inflammation. Therefore, in no case after contact with the toad, you should not rub your eyes or drag your hands into your mouth, they must first be washed. And then there will be no unpleasant incidents.

In nature, there is nothing superfluous, and the gray toad is no exception.