View source for Common toad

{{Taxobox
| name = Common toad
| status = LC
| status_system = iucn3.1 
| status_ref = <ref name=iucn>{{IUCN2006|assessors=Beja, P. ''et al.'' |year=2004|id=54596|title=Bufo bufo|downloaded=12 May 2006}} Database entry includes a range map and justification for why this species is of least concern.</ref>
| image = Bufo bufo sitting-Iric2006.jpg
| image_caption = A common toad
| image_width = 220px
| regnum = [[Animal]]ia
| phylum = [[Chordata]]
| classis = [[Amphibia]]
| ordo = [[Anura]]
| familia = [[Bufonidae]]
| genus = ''[[Bufo]]''
| binomial = ''Bufo bufo''
| binomial_authority = ([[Carl Linnaeus|Linnaeus]] 1758
<ref>{{cite web |url=http://africanamphibians.lifedesks.org/pages/25503 |title=''Bufo bufo'' (Linnaeus, 1758) |publisher=African Amphibians Lifedesk |access-date=2012-06-21 }}{{Dead link|date=January 2021 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref>
|range_map= Bufo bufo distribution.png
|range_map_width=
|range_map_caption=Range map of common toad
}}

The '''common toad''' or '''European toad''' (''Bufo bufo'') is an [[amphibian]].  They are found in most of [[Europe]], except for [[Ireland]], [[Iceland]] and some [[Mediterranean Sea|Mediterranean]] islands. The toad usually lies hidden during the day. It becomes active at dusk and spends the night hunting for the [[invertebrate]]s on which it feeds. It moves with a slow ungainly walk or a short jump.  It has a greyish brown skin covered with wart-like lumps.

The toads in this [[genus]] are known as true toads.  They have no teeth, a dry warty skin and horizontal pupils to the eyes.<ref>{{cite web| title=Amphibian Species of the World 5.1 - Bufonidae |url=http://research.amnh.org/herpetology/amphibia/names.php?taxon=&family=Bufonidae&subfamily=&genus=&commname=&authority=&year=&geo=0&dist=&comment=| access-date=2012-06-12}}</ref>

==Description==
[[file:Bufo bufo-walking-Iric2006.jpg|thumb|alt=Common toad walking|Common toad walking]]
The common toad can grow to about {{convert|15|cm|0|abbr=on}} in length. Females grow larger than males. Those in the south tend to be larger than ones in the north. The head is broad with a wide mouth.  The nose has two small nostrils. There are no teeth. The large, protruding eyes have yellow or copper coloured [[Iris (eye)|irises]] and horizontal slit-shaped [[Pupil (eye)|pupils]]. They have a [[noxious]] substance called [[bufotoxin]].  It is used to keep away [[Predation|predators]]. The head joins the body without a noticeable neck. There is no external vocal sac. The body is broad and squat. The front limbs are short with the toes of the front feet turning inwards. At breeding time, the male gets [[nuptial pad]]s on the first three fingers.  These are to hold the female. The back legs are short and the back feet have long, unwebbed toes. There is no tail. The skin is dry and covered with small warts. The colour is brown, olive-brown or greyish-brown.  Sometimes it is partly blotched or banded with a darker shade. The common toad tends to be [[Sexual dimorphism|sexually dimorphic]]. The females are browner and the males greyer.
<ref name=Naish>{{cite web |url=http://scienceblogs.com/tetrapodzoology/2009/10/26/toads-of-the-north/ |title=Toads of the world: first, (some) toads of the north |author=Naish, Darren |publisher=Tetrapod zoology |access-date=2012-06-23}}</ref> The underside is a dirty white spotted with grey and black patches.<ref name=AmphibiaWeb>{{cite web |url=http://amphibiaweb.org/cgi/amphib_query?where-genus=Bufo&where-species=bufo |title=''Bufo bufo'': Common toad |publisher=AmphibiaWeb |access-date=2012-05-04}}</ref>

Common toads can live for many years.  They have lived for fifty years in captivity.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.herpconstrust.org.uk/animals/common_toad.htm |title=The common toad: (''Bufo bufo'') |publisher=The Amphibian and Reptile Conservation Trust |access-date=2012-05-04 |archive-date=2008-11-21 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081121235410/http://www.herpconstrust.org.uk/animals/common_toad.htm |url-status=dead }}</ref> In the wild, common toads are thought to live for about ten to twelve years.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://wiki.answers.com/Q/What_is_a_toads_life_span |title=What is a toad's life span? |publisher=Answers.com |access-date=2012-06-12}}</ref> Their age can be found by counting the number of yearly growth rings in the bones of their [[Phalanx bone|phalanges]].<ref>{{cite journal |author=Hemelaar, A. S. M.; van Gelder, J. J. |year=1979 |title=Annual Growth Rings in Phalanges of ''Bufo bufo'' (Anura, Amphibia) From the Netherlands and Their Use for Age Determination  |journal=Netherlands Journal of Zoology |volume=30 |issue=1 |pages=129–135 |doi=10.1163/002829680X00069 |url=http://www.ingentaconnect.com/content/brill/njz/1979/00000030/00000001/art00006 }}</ref>

==Behaviour==
[[File:Bufo bufo-defensive reaction1.JPG|thumb|alt=A common toad adopting a defensive stance|A common toad adopting a defensive stance]]
The common toad usually moves by walking rather slowly or in short jumps using all four legs. It spends the day hiding.  It comes out at dusk.  It may travel some distance in the dark while hunting. It is most active in wet weather. By morning it has returned to its base.  It may live in the same place for several months. It has a large appetite and eats woodlice, slugs, beetles, caterpillars, flies, worms and even small mice.<ref name=Observer>{{cite book |title=The Observer's Book of British Wild Animals |last=Stokeo |first=W.J. |publisher= Frederick Warne & Co. Ltd. |location=London |pages=213–217 }}</ref><ref name=Surrey>{{cite web |url= http://www.surrey-arg.org.uk/SARG/08000-TheAnimals/SARGSpeciesData.asp?Species=Common_Toad |title=Common Toad |author= Daniel Winchester |publisher=Surrey Amphibian and Reptile Group |access-date= 2012-05-03}}</ref> Small, fast moving prey may be caught by a flick of the tongue. Larger items are grabbed with the jaws. Having no teeth, it swallows food whole in a series of gulps.<ref name=Observer/> It will try to eat any small, dark coloured, moving object it encounters at night. A research study showed that it would snap at a moving {{convert|1|cm|1|abbr=on}} piece of black paper as if it were prey. It would ignore a larger moving piece.<ref>{{cite journal |author=Ewart, J. P. |year=1987 |title=Neuroethology of releasing mechanisms: Prey-catching in toads |journal=Behavioral and Brain Sciences |volume=10 |pages=337–405 }}</ref> On occasion, the common toad sheds its skin which comes away in tattered pieces. The skin is then eaten.<ref name=Observer/>

[[File:Amplexus Bufo bufo 2010-03-29.jpg|thumb|alt=Common toads in amplexus|Common toads in [[amplexus]]]]
When attacked, the common toad puffs up its body and stands with its back end raised and its head lowered. Its main means of defence is a foul tasting [[secretion]]. It has a bufotoxin called [[bufagin]] and is enough to keep away many [[Predation|predators]]. [[Grass snake]]s seem to be unaffected by it.<ref name=Collins/> Other predators of adult toads include hedgehogs, rats and mink, and even domestic cats.<ref name=Surrey/> Birds that feed on toads include [[heron]]s, [[crow]]s and [[birds of prey]]. The tadpoles also have noxious substances which keep fishes from eating them but not the [[great crested newt]]. Aquatic invertebrates that feed on toad tadpoles include [[dragonfly]] larvae, [[Dytiscidae|diving beetles]] and [[Corixidae|water boatmen]]. These usually avoid the noxious secretion by puncturing the tadpole's skin and sucking out its juices.<ref name=Surrey/>

A parasitic fly, ''[[Lucilia bufonivora]]'', attacks adult common toads. It lays its eggs on the toad's skin. When these hatch, the larvae crawl into the toad's nostrils and eat its flesh.<ref>{{cite journal |author=Strijbosch, H. |year=1980 |title=Mortality in a population of ''Bufo bufo'' resulting from the fly ''Lucilia bufonivora'' |journal=Oecologia |volume=45 |issue=2 |pages=285–286 |doi=10.1007/BF00346472 |url=http://www.springerlink.com/content/pk68660w22m78422/ }}{{Dead link|date=January 2021 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref>

===Reproduction===
[[File:Bufo metamorphosis.jpg|thumb|left|90px|alt=Tadpole development|Toad tadpole development over a two-week period]]
[[File:Bufo.bufo.eggs.jpg|thumb|alt=Egg strings of common toad|Egg strings of common toad]]
[[File:BufoBufoTadpoles.jpg|thumb|alt=Tadpoles of common toad|Tadpoles of common toad, some with hind legs]]
The common toad comes out of [[hibernation]] in spring.  Large numbers of toads move towards the breeding ponds. The toads meet on certain ponds that they favour.<ref name=Observer/> Adults use the same pond year after year. Over 80% of males marked as juveniles have been found to return to the pond at which they were [[Spawn (biology)|spawned]].<ref>{{cite journal |author=Reading, C. J. |year=1991 |title=Breeding pond fidelity in the common toad, ''Bufo bufo'' |journal=Journal of Zoology |volume=225 |issue=2 |pages=201–211 |doi=10.1111/j.1469-7998.1991.tb03811.x |url=http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1469-7998.1991.tb03811.x/abstract }}</ref>

The males arrive first and stay for several weeks.  The females only stay long enough to mate and spawn. Rather than fighting for the right to mate with a female, male toads use the pitch of their voice. Croaking gives a sign of body size and prowess.<ref>{{cite journal |author=Davies, N. B.; Halliday, T. R. |year=1978 |title=Deep croaks and fighting assessment in toads ''Bufo bufo'' |journal=Nature |volume=274|pages=683–685 |doi=10.1038/274683a0|url=http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/v274/n5672/abs/274683a0.html  }}</ref> Fights do sometimes happen.<ref>{{cite journal |author=Davies, N. B.; Halliday, T. R. |year=1979 |title=Competitive mate searching in male common toads, ''Bufo bufo'' |journal=Animal Behaviour |volume=27 |issue=4 |pages=1253–1267 |doi=10.1016/0003-3472(79)90070-8 |url=http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/0003347279900708 }}</ref> Male toads outnumber female toads at breeding ponds.

The males mount on the females' backs.  They hold the females with their front limbs in a grip called [[amplexus]]. The males are very enthusiastic.  They will try to grasp fish or [[inanimate]] objects and often mount on the backs of other males. Sometimes several toads form a heap, each male trying to grasp the female at the base. It is a stressful period and deaths are high among breeding toads.<ref name=Collins>{{cite book |title= Reptiles and Amphibians of Britain and Europe |last=Arnold |first=Nicholas |author2= Denys Ovenden |year=2002 |publisher=Harper Collins Publishers |isbn=978-0-00-219964-3 |pages=73–74 }}</ref> A successful male stays in [[amplexus]] for several days. The female lays a long, double string of small black [[Egg (biology)|eggs]].  He fertilises them with his [[sperm]]. The egg strings may have 3,000 to 6,000 eggs and be {{convert|3|to|4.5|m|0}} in length.  They get tangled in plant stalks.

The strings of eggs absorb water and swell in size. Small [[tadpole]]s hatch out after two to three weeks. At first they hold onto the remains of the strings and feed on the jelly. They later attach themselves to the underside of the leaves of water weed before becoming free swimming. The tadpoles look like those of the [[Common Frog|common frog]] (''Rana temporaria'').  They are a darker colour, being blackish above and dark grey below. They can be told apart from the tadpoles of other species by the fact that the mouth is the same width as the space between the eyes, and this is twice as large as the distance between the nostrils. Over a few weeks their legs develop and their tail slowly gets reabsorbed. By twelve weeks of age, they are small toads measuring about {{cvt|1.5|cm|1}} long and ready to leave the pond.<ref name=Observer/>

The common toad reaches [[Sexual maturity|maturity]] at three to seven years.

==Conservation==
The [[IUCN Red List of Threatened Species]] says the common toad is of [[Least Concern]]. This is because it lives in many areas and is common in those areas. It is not threatened very much by [[habitat]] loss.  It can live in many different areas. [[Chytridiomycosis]], an infectious disease of [[amphibian]]s, has been reported in common toads in [[Spain]] and the [[United Kingdom]].  This may affect some populations.<ref name=iucn/>

==Cultural significance==
The toad has long been thought to be an animal of ill omen or a connection to the other world. This may be because it is at home both on land and in the water. It may cause people to not like it because of its blackish, warty skin, its slow movements and the way it comes from some dark hole.<ref name=HSD>[http://www.shadowdrake.com/toad.html History and lore of the toad] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121125065520/http://www.shadowdrake.com/toad.html |date=2012-11-25 }} Aisling Bronach. House Shadow Drake. Retrieved 2012-04-29.</ref>

One of the earliest references to toads as being linked to the forces of darkness was when [[Zoroaster]] said in 600 BC that all toads should be killed.<ref name=HSD/> In Europe in the [[Middle Ages]], the toad was associated with the [[Christian teaching about the Devil|Devil]], whose coat-of-arms has three toads on it.<ref name=HSD/> It was thought that the toad could poison people.  It was also thought that it was the [[Familiar animal|witch's familiar]] and thus had magical powers.<ref name=Witch-hunt>{{cite book |title=Witch Hunts in Europe and America: An Encyclopedia |last=Burns |first=William E. |year=2003 |publisher=Greenwood Publishing Group |isbn=0-313-32142-6  |page=7 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Qr6_q-chR6MC&pg=PA7&lpg=PA7&dq=common+toad+witchcraft&source=bl&ots=GcQr-qZ0ok&sig=XjdltkN7VsFIZlHewfZQ09h5cM0&hl=en&sa=X&ei=IxblT8CCGuXA0AH5noDJCQ&redir_esc=y#v=onepage&q=common%20toad%20witchcraft&f=false }}</ref> In France it was thought that witches could be found because they were marked by a toad's foot somewhere on their body. In [[Dorset]] it was believed that if one found a toad in the house it should be removed without harming it or the householder would face the wrath of the witch whose familiar it was.<ref name=HSD/> In some areas, the finding of a toad in a house was seen as evidence that a witch was present.<ref name=Witch-hunt/> The [[saliva]] of the toad was thought to be poisonous.  It was believed that it could spit or vomit poisonous fire. It was thought unlucky for a toad to jump over one's foot and in some regions, this was a sign of death.<ref name=HSD/>  Toads were associated with devils and demons and in "[[Paradise Lost]]".  [[John Milton]] showed [[Satan]] as a toad when he poured poison into [[Eve]]'s ear.<ref name=Witch-hunt/> The First Witch in [[William Shakespeare|Shakespeare's]] [[Macbeth]] gave instructions on using a toad in the making of spells:<ref>{{cite book |title=Macbeth |last=Shakespeare |first=William |year=(1605-1606) |page=Act&nbsp;4, Scene&nbsp;1 |url=http://www.shakespeare-online.com/plays/macbeth_4_1.html }}</ref>

The toad is also associated with female [[fecundity]]. Models of toads were left at shrines by women who wanted to conceive. In [[Romania]] it was believed that someone who killed a toad was able to kill their own mother. In Scottish folklore it was said that the tongue of a toad, carried by a man in his breast pocket, would let him have his way with any woman.<ref name=HSD/> It was also believed that there was a jewel inside a toad's head called a "[[toadstone]]".  It was said that when worn as a necklace or ring would warn the wearer of attempts to poison them.<ref>[http://www.exploratorium.edu/frogs/folklore/ Frog myths across cultures] Noel Wanner. The Exploratorium. Retrieved 2012-04-29.</ref> Shakespeare mentioned this in ''[[As you like it]]'':<ref>{{cite book |title=As you like it |last=Shakespeare |first=William |year=(1599-1600) |page=Act&nbsp;2, Scene&nbsp;1 |url=http://www.shakespeare-online.com/plays/asu_2_1.html }}</ref>

Touching a toad has long been thought to cause [[wart]]s. This has been shown to be a myth and warts are actually caused by the [[human papillomavirus]].  They are transferred by direct contact from person to person.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://health.ninemsn.com.au/article.aspx?id=693981 |title=Does touching toads gives you warts? |publisher=Health.ninemsn.com.au |access-date=2012-03-15}}</ref>

[[Mr. Toad]] Esq. is one of the main characters in the children's novel, [[The Wind in the Willows]], by [[Kenneth Grahame]].<ref>{{cite book |title=The Wind in the Willows |last=Grahame |first=Kenneth |year=1908 |publisher=Methuen |isbn=978-0-674-03447-1 }}</ref> This has been dramatized by several authors including [[A. A. Milne]] who called his play [[Toad of Toad Hall]]. Mr Toad is a very conceited,[[Anthropomorphism|anthropomorphic]] toad.

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==References==
{{reflist}}

==Other websites==
{{commons cat|Bufo bufo}}
*[http://www.herp.it/ Amphibians of Europe]
*[http://www.bbc.co.uk/nature/wildfacts/factfiles/481.shtml  BBC nature on the common toad] {{Webarchive|url=https://archive.today/20121223110327/www.bbc.co.uk/nature/wildfacts/factfiles/481.shtml |date=2012-12-23 }}

[[Category:Toads]]