Acrobat Distiller, Job 2
5. Amphibians and reptiles Common toad Bufo bufo Key Sites: Saltfleetby - Theddlethorpe NNR (TF 470 910). Summary Status: • Wildlife and Countryside Act: Schedule 5, Section 9 (5). • Habitats Directive: not listed. • Berne Convention: not listed. • Red Data Book: not listed. • Breeding Status in the Humber: Breeding. • Widespread and common or abundant. Description The common toad Bufo bufo is a widespread amphibian found throughout Britain although this species is absent from Ireland. They are generally brown, grey or dirty green and have the ability to lighten or darken their skin depending on environmental conditions. Their skin is covered in warts which secrete a toxic substance when the toad is seriously threatened. Like most toad species the common toad has short stubby legs. It therefore moves in a series of short hops rather than the large leaps taken by the common frog (Beebee & Griffiths 2000). The common toad tends to avoid grazed pasture, improved grassland, arable fields, heathland and moorlands in favour of rough grassland, scrub and open woodland. Large permanent water bodies with a good cover of emergent and submerged vegetation are preferred. Unlike other British amphibian species, they are able to inhabit ponds, which support fish, due to the unpalatability of common toad tadpoles (Beebee & Griffiths 2000). Common toads feed primarily on ground dwelling arthropods such as ants (family Formicidae), beetles (order Coleoptera), spiders (order Araneae) and earwigs (order Dermaptera), although slower moving items such as earthworms (Class Oligochaeta), and gastropods such as slugs and snails are also taken (Gittins 1987 in Beebee & Griffiths 2000). Distribution within the Humber As in many kinds of species survey, the observed distribution of records will reflect differences in recording effort as well as the real distribution of a species.
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