Bufo bufo
| Scientific classification | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Subkingdom: | Eumetazoa |
| Superphylum: | Deuterostomia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Subphylum: | Vertebrata |
| Infraphylum: | Gnathostomata |
| Superclass: | Tetrapoda |
| Class: | Amphibia |
| Order: | Anura |
| Suborder: | Neobatrachia |
| Superfamily: | Hyloidea |
| Family: | Bufonidae |
| Genus: | Bufo |
The common toad, European toad or in Anglophone parts of Europe, simply the toad (Bufo bufo, from Latin bufo "toad"), is an amphibian found throughout most of Europe (with the exception of Ireland, Iceland, and some Mediterranean islands), in the western part of North Asia, and in a small portion of Northwest Africa. It is one of a group of closely related animals that are descended from a common ancestral line of toads and which form a species complex. The toad is an inconspicuous animal as it usually lies hidden during the day. It becomes active at dusk and spends the night hunting for the invertebrates on which it feeds. It moves with a slow ungainly walk or short jumps and has greyish brown skin covered with wart-like lumps.
Although usually a solitary animal, in the breeding season large numbers of toads converge on certain breeding ponds, where the males compete to mate with the females. Eggs are laid in gelatinous strings in the water and later hatch out into tadpoles. After several months of growth and development, these sprout limbs and undergo metamorphosis into tiny toads. The juveniles emerge from the water and remain largely terrestrial for the rest of their lives.
Common name(s): Common toad, European toad
Synonym(s): Bufo grediscola, Bufo Roeselii, Bufo Rouselei, Bufo alpinus, Bufo bufo bufo, Bufo bufo gredosicola, Bufo carbunculus, Bufo cinereus var. hybridus, Bufo cinereus var. medius, Bufo cinereus var. minor, Bufo cinereus, Bufo communis, Bufo communis, Bufo commutatus, Bufo ferruginosus, Bufo minutus, Bufo palmarum, Bufo rubeta var. robustior, Bufo rubeta, Bufo spelaeus, Bufo tuberculosus, Bufo ventricosus, Bufo vinearum, Bufo vulgaris cinereus, Bufo vulgaris var. acutirostris, Bufo vulgaris var. obtusirostris, Bufo vulgaris, Pegaeus bufo, Rana vulgaris, Rana Bufo
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Although usually a solitary animal, in the breeding season large numbers of toads converge on certain breeding ponds, where the males compete to mate with the females. Eggs are laid in gelatinous strings in the water and later hatch out into tadpoles. After several months of growth and development, these sprout limbs and undergo metamorphosis into tiny toads. The juveniles emerge from the water and remain largely terrestrial for the rest of their lives.
Common name(s): Common toad, European toad
Synonym(s): Bufo grediscola, Bufo Roeselii, Bufo Rouselei, Bufo alpinus, Bufo bufo bufo, Bufo bufo gredosicola, Bufo carbunculus, Bufo cinereus var. hybridus, Bufo cinereus var. medius, Bufo cinereus var. minor, Bufo cinereus, Bufo communis, Bufo communis, Bufo commutatus, Bufo ferruginosus, Bufo minutus, Bufo palmarum, Bufo rubeta var. robustior, Bufo rubeta, Bufo spelaeus, Bufo tuberculosus, Bufo ventricosus, Bufo vinearum, Bufo vulgaris cinereus, Bufo vulgaris var. acutirostris, Bufo vulgaris var. obtusirostris, Bufo vulgaris, Pegaeus bufo, Rana vulgaris, Rana Bufo
Sightings Heatmap
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