Midwife toads

Midwife toads

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Midwife toads are endemic to northern Europe, but around the tail end of the nineteenth century, one of these amphibians made its way into a garden in Bedford. It did very well and spread over the region, and further colonies were established in the states of Yorkshire, Workshop, and south Devon. In addition to this, additional colonies have been founded by individuals who escaped their confinement. It is currently unknown what has become of the majority of these colonies, however it is reasonable to infer that some of them have survived in their natural habitats. Fortunately, it does not appear that they pose a substantial threat of either predation or competition to the natural animals that we have here.

This toad is quite tiny and has a greyish appearance. It is nocturnal by nature and breeds most successfully in little ponds. Their other name, the Bell Toad, comes from the sound that the males make, which is comparable to a single tone produced by a bell.

They have a peculiar pattern of reproduction. The male wraps the spawn string around his rear limbs as soon as the eggs have been fertilized, and he continues to carry it about with him until the eggs are ready to hatch. The spawn string only contains a few eggs. After that, it travels to an appropriate pool where the babies will hatch and then swim away. The tadpoles develop into extraordinarily enormous frogs, but their rate of development is such that they frequently have to spend the winter as tadpoles before undergoing metamorphosis in the spring that follows