True toad

True toad

Scientific Classification
Kingdom: Animalia Phylum: Chordata Subphylum: Vertebrata Class: Amphibia Order: Anura Family: Bufonidae
Genera
Ansonia Atelopus Bufo Bufoides Capensibufo Crepidophryne Dendrophryniscs Didynamipus Laurentophryne Leptophroyne Melanophryniscs Mertensophryne Nectophryne Nectophrynoides Oreophryne Osornophryne Pedostibes Pelophryne Peltophryne Pseudobufo Rhamphophryne Schismaderma Stephopaedes Truebella Werneria Wolterstorffina
Panamanian Golden Frog

True toads are any of the 350 species and 26 genera of toads belonging to the taxonomic family Bufonidae. True toads mainly live in streams but some of the others are aboreal. True toads have warty and poisonous skin, so humans cannot eat toads.[1] They are widespread in the world except Oceania, Antarctica, and their main habiting environment is dry or wet environments, such as deserts or rainforest. [2] Most toads of bufonidae are sizes in 20mm to 200mm, also they don't have any teeth but, they have poisons on their back. The genus, Bufo are mostly stupid or dull and they have simple color both male and female also,they have short body with short legs. However, the genus, Atelopus, mostly have bright color for example, Atelopus zeteki also known as Panama golden frog have bright yellow also, they have long body with long legs. [3]

Anatomy

Bufo Melanostictus Schneider

The species of true toads have thick and warty skins. Most toads live in streams but the few of them some of the others live in arboreal which means they live in a tree. The bufonides have skin which is turned to the bone with the skull, and the true toads come in many different sizes; between 20mm to 250mm long. [4] The bufonidae ,which is the family of toads, are the best known as true toads. The true toads have a differnet joint, with the other animal, between their spine and lower backbone. Also the true toads have hip bones, which makes them difficult to jump well. Their warty skin, especially on the back of the head, which called a paratoid gland, it is liquid poison that looks like milk. The true toads have short heads, large mouth, short legs and numerous warts on their backs. For example, Houston toad is good example to explain the short heads, warts on the back, short legs, and fat body. However, Atelopus zeteki is good example to compare with the Houston toad, there are few different things between Panamanian Golden toad and Houston toad. It also can be the compared of Bufo and Atelopus. First, Houston toad got fat body with the dark color, but Panamanian Golden toad got thinner body with the bright color.[5] Second, Houston toad got short head with wide mouth and short legs, but Panamanian Golden toad long head, tiny mouth and long legs.[6]

Reproduction

Most toads are live in streams but the some of the others are arboreal which means live on the trees.[7] The male of true toads call all at onece which means they choruses, then the female true toads hear and follow the group of male true toads. For example, the Houston toad, when the female true toads lay their eggs and the male toads are clinging to the female true toads' back to get ready lay their eggs. The femal true toads lay about the hundred of eggs in a long string.[8] The true toads lay the long strings of eggs in streams, most toads leave their eggs after they laid but, some true toads leave their eggs above the water. Oviparity is the most common and also the viviparity are well known in toads. [9] For example, Golden toad, in April, large numbers of males golden toad wit for the females comes and then the male golden toad fight against each other to mate their short season, which they burrows their eggs. About 228 eggs they laid and burrows them, after two months, they would hatched out of the ground. [10]

Ecology

The distribution of the family Bufonidae

On the left picture, geographic distribution map shows that how many true toads are distributed in the world. Except some part of continent such as, north part of Asia, Oceania, and north part of Africa, except these part of world, members of the family Bufonidae are widely spread out all over the world. [11] True toads' main habitats are hot or warm place such as deserts of dry fields, however, they don't usually live in the north part of every continent because the low degree with the snowy weather. The largest distributed is Asia, especially southeastern Asia, such as Vietnam, Malaysia, Laos and Cambodia, because these countries are hot and warm also there are no winter exist, so southeastern Asia is the best place they can live. [12]

True toads and People

Toads are often come out in the book that children likes, such as, Aesop's Fables. Especially, children's book because toads are gentle, they are not hunting or fighting each other for their food, so children can catch them and children can play with them. However, people shouldn't put their hands into their mouth after they touched or played, because toads have the huge wart on their body. The wart is liquid poison, it also called paratoid. [13] In addition, bufonidaes are important to people in many ways, first they kill the pests in the wooden stuffs or farms that people have to use or eat. Second, they can be the food except the toads that have poison "wart" on the back. In many country, mostly in Asia, the market selling the frogs. Third, toads are useful in the medical studying because the organs or any other systems are similar to humans or other animals. [14]