Common Toad

Common Toad - Bufo bufo

Large Anuran with squat body and very warty skin. Head is longer than wide. Its back is usually brownish but can vary from a sandy to reddish colour; the belly parts are pale, often with darker marks.

The male is smaller than the female and can reach 10cm in length (the female 21cm). Its lives in all sorts of habitats, even human settlements.

Except during the breeding season, it is terrestrial and usually active at night. In summer as well as winter it often spends some time hiding in cracks in the ground, in animal burrows, dry walls etc. The breeding season varies depending on the place but usually occurs in spring. T

hese animals faithfully return to the same pond, often migrating several kilometres to do so.

The males arrive before the females, who are then attracted by the males' calls. The female lays 4,000-6,000 eggs in long strings of jelly-like spawn, formed of 2-4 strands of eggs, which fall to the bottom of the pond.

The tadpoles complete metamorphosis after 2-3 months and the adults become sexually mature after 2-4 years. It feeds on medium sized prey, preferring Arthropods and earthworms which it catches by rapidly extending its long sticky tongue.

Protected species under the Regional Law of Tuscany no. 56/2000.