Giant toad

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Giant toad
Systematics
without rank: Amphibians (Lissamphibia)
Order : Frog (anura)
Superfamily : Disc tongue i. w. S. (Discoglossoidea)
Family : Toads and barbour frogs (Bombinatoridae)
Genre : Toads ( bombina )
Type : Giant toad
Scientific name
Bombina maxima
( Boulenger , 1905)
Distribution area

The giant toad ( Bombina maxima ), also known as the Chinese giant toad , belongs to the " primitive " family Bombinatoridae and to the genus of the toad within the order of the frogs .

features

The giant toad is the largest type of toad. Their maximum size indicated with 7.5 centimeters. Males grow larger than females. On the upper side, the giant toad is somewhat similar in appearance to the European yellow-bellied toad , as it is also gray-brown in color and heavily coated. However, the warts are larger and so the animals are sometimes more reminiscent of a toad with parotids .

Boulenger received three females for the first description, which he described as follows: Teeth on the ploughshare (vomer) in two small groups or short transverse rows. Tongue large, round, slightly free on the sides and behind. Head wider than long with a rounded snout. There is no edge of the snout (canthus rostralis). Toes of the fore and hind feet short, without sub-articular tubercles. The webbed rear feet Boulenger described as reaching up to half of the toes. However, this only applies to the females described by Boulenger; in the male, the toes are webbed over the entire length (English name large-webbed bell toad ). The upper side is covered with small warts that are mixed with large pore-filled glands, similar to the parotid glands (ear glands) of toads. The largest, real parotids are behind the eyes. Underside almost smooth with more or less pronounced throat fold. No horn spines all over the body. Upper side blackish olive-colored, lower side bright orange and black marbled, in equal proportions or black predominantly.

distribution and habitat

The giant toad is endemic in the southern Chinese provinces of Sichuan , Yunnan and Guizhou at altitudes of 2000 to 3300 meters and is still a relatively common amphibian species there. Habitats are swamps, wetlands, arable land, ponds, canals and ditches in the mountains, which the giant toad, like all Bombina species, inhabits in a semi- aquatic manner.

Way of life

Adult giant sinks awaken from hibernation in spring and reproduce in aquatic environments from early May to early June. The sexual maturity reached males and females with 2 years, males grow up to 6, females up to 5 years old.

Taxonomy

Up to the first description in 1905, three species of the genus Bombinator were known. To Boulenger's great surprise and delight, as he wrote himself, a small shipment of frogs collected by John Graham near Yunnan, which the British Museum had just received, contained three specimens of a previously unknown species of the genus. The name Bombinator maximus was suggested by Boulenger for the new species, which is remarkably large and greatly expands the known distribution area of ​​the genus . The first description was published in 1905 in The Annals and magazine of natural history, including zoology, botany, and geology under the title Description of a new Batrachian of the Genus Bombinator from Yuan .

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Dorling Kindersley (Publisher): Nature Guide: Snakes and Other Reptiles and Amphibians. ISBN 978-1465421036 , p. 262.
  2. ^ David P. Badger: Frogs. 1995, Swan Hill Press, ISBN 978-1853107405 , p. 102.
  3. ↑ a b c d Yan Huang et al. : Age and body size of the toad Bombina maxima in a subtropical high-altitude population. 2013 in: The Herpetological Journal Volume 23, pp. 229–232. ( Online )
  4. ↑ Annemarie Ohler et al. : Amphibian biodiversity of Hoang Lien Nature Reserve. (Lao Cai Province, northern Vietnam) with description of two new species. ( Online )
  5. ^ A b George Albert Boulenger: Description of a new Batrachian of the Genus Bombinator from Yuan. 1905 in: The Annals and magazine of natural history, including zoology, botany, and geology. (Being a continuation of the Annals combined with Loudon and Charlesworth's Magazine of Natural History.) Vol. XV, Seventh Series. ( Online )

Web links

Commons : Giant toad  - album with pictures, videos and audio files