Bufonidae also known as the toad. There are over 500 species of toads. Most toads of the genus Bufo are drab. However, Bufo periglenes is brightly colored. Toads range in size from 20 to more than 200 mm. Toads can be found in deserts, savanna, dry and humid forests, from sea level to 16,404 ft (5,000 m).

True toads are the rough-skinned, warty, squat-bodied, short-legged amphibians. The tongue is flicked forward from the mouth, and the sticky tip grasps the prey and carries it back to the mouth. Unlike most frogs, toads do not have teeth. Toads eat insects, grubs, slugs, worms, and other invertebrates. As tadpoles, they eat plants. Toads, as pets, will eat fruit or vegetables.

 

Toads are native to most of the major landmasses of the world except Greenland, Australia, New Guinea, New Zealand, Madagascar, and of course, the polar regions. They seem generally to average somewhere between 4 and 15 years.

 

Author: Jacob F

Published: 04/2010

 

Photo Credit: http://www.fws.gov/Nevada/nv_species/images/amargosa_toad_large.jpg