Spiny Toad

Bufo spinosus

The Spiny Toad is a unique little creature with bumpy skin and spines that help protect it. It loves to hop around in damp places and can be found near ponds and streams.

Habitat: Wetlands

Appearance

The Spiny Toad is a large, stout amphibian with rough, warty skin that ranges from brown to olive-green or grey. It has prominent, kidney-shaped parotoid glands behind its golden, horizontally slit eyes. Its body is covered in small, spiny bumps.

KingdomAnimaliaPhylumChordataClassAmphibiaOrderAnuraFamilyBufonidaeGenusBufo

Spiny Toad

Interesting facts

During winter, Spiny Toads hibernate by burying themselves in mud or under logs for months!

Male Spiny Toads have special bumpy thumbs to help them hold onto females during mating!

Sometimes, a Spiny Toad will shed its entire skin and then eat it to recover nutrients!

These toads often have beautiful golden eyes with striking horizontal pupils.

Special abilities

Spiny Toads can release a milky poison from glands behind their eyes that helps them deter predators.

Spiny Toads have large golden eyes with horizontal pupils that help them spot prey in low-light conditions.

Spiny Toads can absorb water directly through special patches on their skin, rather than drinking.

Measurements & details

Length: 10-18 cm
Weight: 0.05-0.25 kg
Lifespan: 10-15 years
Top Speed: 0.5 km/h
Clutch Size: 2000-10000
Metamorphosis: 60-90 days

Diet & Feeding

Spiny Toads are mighty hunters who mostly eat creepy crawlies they find on land.

Age differences: Young tadpoles graze on algae and detritus, while adult toads hunt insects and other invertebrates.

Primary Foods

Earthworms
Slugs
Beetles
Spiders
Crickets
Ants

Foraging Method

Ambush

Ecological connections

eaten by

Viperine Snake

Natrix maura

These snakes prey on toad tadpoles and juveniles.

eats

European Hedgehog

Erinaceus europaeus

Hedgehogs are immune to toad toxins and frequently hunt them.

hunts

Earthworm

Lumbricus terrestris

A primary food source, the toad catches worms with its sticky tongue.

hunts

Leopard Slug

Limax maximus

Slugs are slow-moving prey, easily caught by toads.

Traits

Solitary

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

Camouflaged

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

Insectivorous

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

Spiky/Thorny

Possessing sharp, pointed projections or spines on the body or surface.

Wetland

This habitat trait identifies species found in wetlands, which are areas of land saturated with water, either permanently or seasonally, including marshes, swamps, and bogs.