African Red Toad

Schismaderma carens

The African Red Toad is a colorful little creature that loves to hop around in warm places. With its bright red skin, it can be hard to miss! These toads are great at blending in with their surroundings.

Habitat: Savannas

Appearance

The African Red Toad is a robust amphibian with reddish-brown or grey-brown skin, often covered in darker spots or blotches. Unusually for a toad, its skin is relatively smooth rather than warty. It also has prominent parotid glands located behind its eyes.

KingdomAnimaliaPhylumChordataClassAmphibiaOrderAnuraFamilyBufonidaeGenusSchismaderma

African Red Toad

Interesting facts

African Red Toads have unusually smooth skin, unlike the warty skin found on most other toad species!

Male African Red Toads inflate a single, large vocal sac under their chin to make very loud mating calls!

Their tadpoles often swim together in massive, dense schools, looking like tiny underwater clouds!

These toads often breed in temporary puddles, requiring their tadpoles to grow up super fast!

Special abilities

African Red Toads have special glands behind their eyes that release a milky toxin to deter predators.

African Red Toads can rapidly burrow backwards into soft soil using their powerful legs to hide from danger or dry weather.

African Red Toads possess excellent night vision, helping them find and ambush insects and other prey in the dark.

Measurements & details

Length: 7-10.5 cm
Weight: 0.05-0.15 kg
Lifespan: 5-10 years
Top Speed: 0.2 km/h
Clutch Size: 2000-5000
Metamorphosis: 28-56 days

Diet & Feeding

African Red Toads are insectivores, mostly eating bugs and other small invertebrates.

Age differences: Tadpoles are herbivorous or detritivorous, grazing on algae and decaying plant matter. Adults are carnivorous.

Primary Foods

Beetles
Crickets
Ants
Termites
Spiders

Foraging Method

Ambush

Ecological connections

eaten by

Puff Adder

Bitis arietans

A common venomous snake predator.

eaten by

Grey Heron

Ardea cinerea

Herons catch toads near water.

hunts

Two-spotted Cricket

Gryllus bimaculatus

Ambushes crickets hiding in grass.

hunts

Natal Termite

Macrotermes natalensis

Eats termites emerging from mounds.

Traits

Solitary

Solitary animals live alone for most of their lives, only interacting with others for mating or parental care.

Singing

Singing animals produce complex vocalizations, often for purposes of attracting mates, defending territory, or communicating within their species.

Camouflaged

Camouflaged describes organisms that possess coloring or patterns that allow them to blend into their environment.

Colorful

Colorful describes organisms or objects displaying a wide range of bright and distinct colors.

Insectivorous

This trait identifies organisms whose diet primarily consists of insects and other small invertebrates.

Savanna

This habitat trait denotes species native to savannas, which are grasslands with scattered trees, typically found in tropical or subtropical regions with distinct wet and dry seasons.