Mongolian toad
Mongolian toad | ||||||||||||
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![]() Mongolian toad ( Strauchbufo raddei ) |
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Systematics | ||||||||||||
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Scientific name of the genus | ||||||||||||
Shrub bufo | ||||||||||||
Fei , Ye & Jiang , 2012 | ||||||||||||
Scientific name of the species | ||||||||||||
Strauchbufo raddei | ||||||||||||
( Strauch , 1876) |
The Mongolian toad ( Strauchbufo raddei ) is an East Asian toad species found in the north and northeast of China ( Inner Mongolia , Manchuria , Gansu to Jiangsu and Anhui ), in central and eastern Mongolia , in North Korea and in eastern Russia from Lake Baikal to Ussuri occurs.
features
The Mongolian toad reaches a head-to-trunk length of 4 to 8.9 cm. On the back it is light olive or greenish gray to gray and patterned with large dark spots. A light line runs down the middle of the back. The belly is light gray with a few red spots. The ear glands behind the eyes are large and showy. The pupil is oval and horizontal, the eardrum is not visible. Males stay smaller than females, have oestrus calluses on the first finger and a throat-vocal sac .
Way of life
The Mongolian toad lives on the edges of deciduous and coniferous forests, on meadows, forest steppes, sandy steppes and in oases in dry steppes and the Gobi desert, but also in agricultural areas and on the edge of human settlements, is very common in some areas and applies as safe. Up to 400 specimens per square kilometer can live in the Amur region . The toad prefers soft or sandy soils and is found up to heights of 2700 meters. It is active at night and at dusk, but can also be seen during the day on warm, sunny days. The Mongolian toad spawns in small stagnant waters from May to July, depending on the region. The males clasp the females in a lumbar amplexus . The spawn contains around 1000 to 6000 eggs and is released in two, three to six meter long strings. The metamorphosis usually takes place from June to August, but the tadpoles can also overwinter and only complete their metamorphosis in the coming summer. The Mongolian toad hibernates from September or October to April or May, usually in groups of several animals. In the northern regions of their range, they dig themselves to a depth of two meters.
The tadpoles feed on algae and detritus , recently transformed juveniles on mites and small insects, especially springtails . Adult toads eat spiders, caterpillars, beetles ( ground beetles , weevils , black beetles and others) and ants. The latter are the main food source in arid habitats.
Systematics
The Mongolian toad was in 1876 by the Russian herpetologists Alexander Strauch by the scientific name Bufo raddei described . The species epithet raddei honors the geographer and naturalist Gustav Radde , who explored the area around Lake Baikal, Daurien and the Amur region, among other things . In 2012, the toad was assigned to the monotypic genus Strauchbufo in an amphibious guide by three Chinese scientists . It belongs to the closer relationship of the Central and Eastern European green toad ( Bufotes viridis ).
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b c N. Batsaikhan, G. Uuganbayar and D. Lkhagvasuren: A field guide to the fauna of the Hustai National Park, Mongolia. Admon Publishing, Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia, ISBN 978-99973-0-935-8 , pages 272-275
- ↑ a b c d Strauchbufo raddei at AmphibiaWeb
- ↑ Strauchbufo raddei in the endangered Red List species the IUCN 2004. Posted by: Sergius Kuzmin, Masafumi Matsui, Liang Gang, Irina Maslova, 2004. Accessed August 21, 2016th
- ↑ Strauchbufo raddei in Amphibian Species of the World
- ↑ Fei, L., C.-y. Ye, and J.-p. Jiang. 2012. Colored Atlas of Chinese Amphibians and Their Distributions. Sichuan, China: Sichuan Publishing House of Science & Technology.