The Midwife toad is an amphibian that is part of the frog family because it takes care of its eggs and its babies.
What Does the Midwife Toad Look Like?
The Midwife Toad is grey or brown, has rough skin that is covered in warts.
What Does the Midwife Toad Eat?
The Midwife Toad eats beetles, flies, crickets, caterpillars, ants and other smaller insects. They use their teeth to chew.
The Midwife Toad also uses its tongue that is long and sticky to catch its prey.
Protection
The Midwife is covered in small warts and these warts let off an odor that keeps the predators away. The poison is so strong that it keeps the male safe so that it doesn’t get attacked.
The tadpoles are not poisonous and so they are prey to many fish and insects.
Subspecies
There are many subspecies of the Midwife Toad such as the Iberian Midwife Toad, the Betic Midwife Toad, the Mallorcan Midwife Toad and the Common Midwife Toad.
Changes
The Midwife Toad learned to live in areas that were dry and hot. They are found in deep canyons ion the Spanish Islands.
When they changed, their bodies became flatter and this allowed them to squeeze in between rocks.
What is Special About the Midwife Toad?
The Midwife Toad is special because it carries the fertilized eggs that the female lays on its back. It keeps its legs wrapped around them to keep them safe from predators in the water.
When the eggs are ready to hatch, the male will go into shallow water and he will allow the tadpoles to come out of the eggs.
Where Does the Midwife Toad Live?
The Midwife Toad is found in Europe, Africa and Majoraca. It is found in tunnels, under logs, under rocks and in soil.
The Midwife Toad will dig and burrow under the ground in order to be safe and to hide.
Behavior of the Midwife Toad
The Midwife Toad is nocturnal, so it is most active during the night. Sometimes, it will come out during dusk and will return home before it gets daylight.
The Midwife Toad always goes back to the same spot.
During the winter, the Midwife Toad will hibernate in animal burrows that were made by small mammals.
Facts About Midwife Toads:
- There are five species of Midwife Toads found in Europe, North Africa and Majoraca.
- The Midwife got its name Midwife because it takes care of the eggs before they hatch.
- The Midwife has a tongue that is round and flat.
- The family name of the Midwife Toad means “round tongue.”
- The Midwife Toad is only around 2 inches long.
- This toad is considered to be wider and plump.
- The Midwife Toad sometimes has grey skin.
- If the Midwife Toad is carrying the eggs and it is hot outside, he will take the eggs to a water area to moisten them so that they don’t dry out.
What Did You Learn?
- What is the Midwife Toad? The Midwife Toad is an amphibian that is found in Europe and Africa.
- What does the Midwife Toad eat? The Midwife Toad is a carnivore and it uses its teeth to eat small insects, other amphibians and small fish and animals.
- What is important about the Midwife Toad? The Midwife male toad will put the eggs on its back that the female had and will take care of them until they hatch.
- Why is the Midwife called Midwife Toad? The Midwife Toad is called Midwife because it takes care of its eggs.
- Where does the Midwife Toad go if the weather is very dry and it has eggs? The Midwife Toad will go to someplace with water to keep the eggs moist.
