Far Eastern toad without water. Far Eastern frog - Rana chensinensis. Photo Far Eastern toad

IN Soviet times toads of the Far East of Russia were considered a subspecies of the common toad, and today they are considered separate view based on geographic isolation from other gray toads, morphological, karyological and biochemical differences. There are 2 subspecies of the Far Eastern toad. In Russia, there is a nominative subspecies Bufo gargarizans gargarizans Cantor, 1842.

Appearance and structure

Very similar to the gray toad. It differs from it in its smaller size (body length 56-102 mm), the presence of spines on outgrowths of the skin and a wide strip running from the parotid gland to the side of the body, torn in the back into large spots. The eardrum is very small or covered with skin. The upper side of the body is dark gray, olive gray or olive brown with three broad longitudinal stripes. The underside of the body is yellowish or grayish, without a pattern or with small spots in the back.

The signs of sexual dimorphism are the same as those of the common toad. In addition, the back of the male is often greenish or olive; gray or brown spots on the back may be present. The female is larger than the male, her hind legs are relatively shorter, and her head is slightly wider.

Distribution and habitat

The range includes northeastern China, Korea, and Russia. Range in Russia: Far East north to the valley of the Amur River. There, the species is distributed from west to northeast from the mouth of the Zeya River to the mouth of the Amur in the Khabarovsk Territory. Inhabits Sakhalin and islands in Peter the Great Bay: Russky, Popova, Putyatin, Skrebtsova and others. Also known from the Baikal region.

Far Eastern toad lives in forests various types(coniferous, mixed and deciduous), and also in meadows. Although she loves wet places habitats, in shaded or waterlogged coniferous forests rare, but inhabits floodplains and river valleys. Can live in anthropogenic landscapes: in countryside as well as in parks and gardens big cities(such as Khabarovsk). It does not occur in the mountain tundra.

Nutrition and lifestyle

Far Eastern toads eat mostly insects, with a preference for hymenoptera and beetles.

They winter from September-October to April-May. They can winter both on land in underground cavities, under logs and tree roots, and in reservoirs.

reproduction

Far Eastern toads spawn in lakes, ponds, swamps, puddles, oxbow lakes, ditches and streams with stagnant or semi-flowing water. They breed in April-May, in some places until the end of June. Occasionally, pairs can be formed on the way to the reservoir. Amplexus axillary. Like the common toads, in the Far East it occasionally happens that several males try to mate with one female, forming a ball of toads. In order to release sexual products at the same time, the male and female stimulate each other with tactile and vibrational signals. Caviar is laid in cords that wrap around underwater objects (mainly plants) at a depth of up to 30 cm.

Description

Systematics

In Soviet times, the toads of the Russian Far East were considered a subspecies of the common toad, and today they are considered a separate species, based on geographic isolation from other common toads, morphological, karyological and biochemical differences. There are 2 subspecies of the Far Eastern toad. In Russia, there is a nominative subspecies Bufo gargarizans gargarizans Cantor, 1842.

Appearance and structure

Very similar to the gray toad. It differs from it in its smaller size (body length 56-102 mm), the presence of spines on outgrowths of the skin and a wide strip running from the parotid gland to the side of the body, torn in the back into large spots. The eardrum is very small or covered with skin. The upper side of the body is dark gray, olive gray or olive brown with three broad longitudinal stripes. The underside of the body is yellowish or grayish, without a pattern or with small spots in the back.

The signs of sexual dimorphism are the same as those of the common toad. In addition, the back of the male is often greenish or olive; gray or brown spots on the back may be present. The female is larger than the male, her hind legs are relatively shorter, and her head is slightly wider.

Distribution and habitat

The range includes northeastern China, Korea, and Russia. Range in Russia: Far East north to the valley of the Amur River. There, the species is distributed from west to northeast from the mouth of the Zeya River to the mouth of the Amur in the Khabarovsk Territory. Inhabits Sakhalin and islands in Peter the Great Bay: Russky, Popova, Putyatin, Skrebtsova and others. Also known from the Baikal region.

The Far Eastern toad lives in forests of various types (coniferous, mixed and deciduous), as well as in meadows. Although it loves wet habitats, it is rare in shady or waterlogged coniferous forests, but inhabits floodplains and river valleys. It can live in anthropogenic landscapes: in rural areas, as well as in parks and gardens of large cities (such as Khabarovsk). It does not occur in the mountain tundra.

Nutrition and lifestyle

Far Eastern toads eat mostly insects, with a preference for hymenoptera and beetles.

They winter from September-October to April-May. They can winter both on land in underground cavities, under logs and tree roots, and in reservoirs.

reproduction

Far Eastern toads spawn in lakes, ponds, swamps, puddles, oxbow lakes, ditches and streams with stagnant or semi-flowing water. They breed in April-May, in some places until the end of June. Occasionally, pairs can be formed on the way to the reservoir. Amplexus axillary. Like the common toads, in the Far East it occasionally happens that several males try to mate with one female, forming a ball of toads. In order to release sexual products at the same time, the male and female stimulate each other with tactile and vibrational signals. Caviar is laid in cords that wrap around underwater objects (mainly plants) at a depth of up to 30 cm.

Population status

Far Eastern toad - common and numerous on Far East our country view. In the valley of the Amur River, it ranks third in terms of numbers among amphibians (after frogs Rana nigromaculata And Rana amurensis). After severe droughts and frosty winters the number of populations of Far Eastern toads falls sharply, but then recovers.

Notes

Links

The Bastak State Nature Reserve was established in 1997 on the territory of the Jewish Autonomous Region (JAO). It is located north of the city of Birobidzhan to the administrative border of the Jewish Autonomous Region with the Khabarovsk region Khabarovsk Territory. Its territory covers the southeastern spurs of the Bureinsky Range and the northern outskirts of the Middle Amur Lowland.

In accordance with the Decree of the Government of the Russian Federation of April 21, 2011 No. 302 "On the expansion of the territory of the state nature reserve“Bastak” includes the lands of the forest fund with an area of ​​35323.5 hectares, the former regional reserve “Zabelovsky” to the reserve. On March 13, 2014, Prime Minister of the Russian Federation Dmitry Medvedev signed a decree on the assignment of 35.3 thousand hectares of land in the Jewish Autonomous Region to the territory of the Bastak State Nature Reserve, the corresponding document is published on the government website.

Currently, the protected area consists of two separate sections with total area- 127094.5 ha. Along the boundaries of the reserve in 2002 and 2003. a protected zone was created, which is 15390 hectares within the Jewish Autonomous Region and 11160 hectares in the Khabarovsk Territory.

Bolshoi Pelis is an island in the southwestern part of the Peter the Great Bay of the Sea of ​​Japan, the largest of the islands of the Rimsky-Korsakov archipelago. It is located 70 km southwest of Vladivostok. Administratively, it belongs to the Khasansky district of the Primorsky Territory. It is part of the Far Eastern Marine Reserve (DVGMZ). There is no permanent population on the island; in the summer-autumn period, the island is occasionally visited by tourists and vacationers (without going ashore).

Toad, or real toad, belongs to the class of amphibians, order of anurans, family of toads (Bufonidae). The families of toads and frogs are sometimes confused. There are even languages ​​in which the same name is used to identify these amphibians.

Toad - description and characteristics. How is a toad different from a frog?

Toads have a slightly flattened body with a rather large head and pronounced parotid glands. The upper jaw of the wide mouth is devoid of teeth. The eyes are large with horizontal pupils. The fingers of the fore and hind limbs, located on the sides of the body, are connected by swimming membranes. Some ask the question why does the frog jump and the toad only walks. The fact is that the hind limbs of toads are rather short, so they are slow, not as jumpy as frogs, and swim poorly. But with a lightning movement of the tongue, they grab insects flying by. Unlike toads, the frog's skin is smooth and needs moisture, so the frog spends all of its time in or near water. The skin of toads is drier, keratinized, does not require constant moisturizing and is completely covered with warts.

The toad's poisonous glands are on its back. They secrete mucus that causes an unpleasant burning sensation, but does not hurt people. great harm. The toad is an amphibian, painted in gray, brown or black shades with spotted stains, easily hiding from enemies. The bright color of the toad indicates its toxicity.

The size of the toad ranges from 25 mm to 53 cm, and the weight of large individuals can be more than a kilogram. Their average duration life is in the range of 25-35 years, some individuals live up to 40 years.

Types of toads, names and photos

The family of toads has 579 species, divided into 40 genera, of which only a third lives in Eurasia. In the CIS countries, 6 species from the genus Bufo are common:

• gray or common toad;
• green toad;
• Far Eastern toad;
• Caucasian toad;
• reed or stink toad;
• Mongolian toad.

Below you will find more detailed description these toads.

• Common toad (grey toad) (Bufo bufo)

one of the largest representatives of the family. Broad, squat body common toad can be painted in a wide variety of colors - from gray and olive to dark terracotta and brown. The eyes of this species of toad are bright orange, with horizontal pupils. The secret secreted by the skin glands is absolutely not poisonous to humans. The common toad lives in Russia, Europe, as well as in the northwestern countries of Africa. The toad lives almost everywhere, preferring to settle in the dry zones of forest-steppes and forests, often found in parks or recently plowed fields.

• (Bufo viridis)

This type of toad has a grayish-olive color, complemented by large spots of a dark green tone, bordered by a black stripe. This "camouflage" coloring is an excellent disguise from enemies. The skin of the green toad releases a toxic substance that is dangerous to its enemies. The hind limbs are long, but rather poorly developed, so the toad rarely jumps, preferring to move slowly. This type of toad lives in Southern and Central Europe, North Africa, Front, Middle and Central Asia, found in the Volga region. A more southern species than the common toad, in the north of Russia it reaches only the Vologda and Kirov regions. For living, the green toad chooses open places - meadows, fields overgrown with low grass, river floodplains.

• (Bufo gargarizans)

Representatives of this species can have a different body color - from dark gray to olive with a brownish tint. On the skin outgrowths of the Far Eastern toad there are small spikes, the upper part of the body is decorated with spectacular longitudinal stripes, the abdomen is always lighter, usually without a pattern, less often covered with small spots. The female of the Far Eastern toad is always larger than the male, has a wider head. The distribution area is quite wide: the toad of this species lives in China and Korea, inhabits the territory of the Far East and Sakhalin, and is found in Transbaikalia. Prefers to settle in damp places - in shady forests, in flood meadows, in river floodplains.

• Caucasian (Colchis) toad (Bufo verrucosissimus)

the largest amphibian found in Russia can reach a length of 12.5 cm. Skin color is either dark gray or light brown. Individuals that have not reached puberty have a pale orange color. The habitat of the toad covers only the regions of the Western Caucasus. Colchis toad inhabits forest areas of mountains and foothills, less common in wet caves.

• Jungle or stink toad ( Bufo calamita)

rather large amphibian up to 8 cm in length, the body color varies from gray-olive to brown or brown-sand, with green spots, the abdomen is grayish-white. A narrow yellow stripe runs along the back of the Jungle Toad. The skin is bumpy, but there are no spines on the growths. Males have a highly developed throat resonator. A representative of this species of toad lives in Europe: in its northern and eastern parts the distribution area includes Great Britain, the southern territories of Sweden, the Baltic states. There is a cane toad in Belarus, in western Ukraine, in the Kaliningrad region of Russia. The toad chooses the shores of reservoirs, swampy lowlands, shady and wet thickets of bushes as a place of residence.

• (Bufo raddei)

The body of this toad is slightly flattened, with a rounded, slightly pointed head in the anterior part, it can reach 9 cm in length. The eyes are strongly convex. The skin of the Mongolian toad is covered with a huge number of warts, in females they are smooth, but in males they are often covered with prickly growths-thorns. The color of the species is varied: there are individuals of light gray, golden beige or rich brown. Spots of different geometry form a spectacular pattern on the back of the toad, in the middle part of the back there is a clearly defined light strip. The belly is grayish or pale yellow, without spots. The Mongolian toad chooses the south of Siberia as its habitat (it is found on the coast of Lake Baikal, on the territory of the Chita region, in Buryatia), inhabits the Far East, Korea, the foothills of Tibet, China, Mongolia.

• cone-headed toad (Anaxyrus terrestris)

species found only in the southeastern United States. In structure, it does not differ much from its relatives, the only hallmark of the cone-headed toad are rather high crests located longitudinally on the head and forming large swellings behind the eyes of the amphibian. In length, some individuals reach 11 cm, the color of the skin, covered with many warts, can vary from dark brown and bright green to brown, grayish or yellow. By the way, outgrowths-warts are always either darker or lighter than the main tone of the color, so the color of the toad looks very colorful. The amphibian prefers to settle on light and dry sandstones with sparse vegetation. Often chooses semi-desert areas for habitation, sometimes settles near human dwellings.

• cricket toad (Anaxyrus debilis)

The body length of these amphibians reaches 3.5-3.7 cm, and females are always larger than males. The main color tone of the toad is green or slightly yellowish, brown-black spots are superimposed on top of the dominant color, the belly is cream-colored, the skin on the throat is black in males and whitish in individuals of the opposite sex. The skin of the toad is covered with warts. In the tadpoles of the cricket toad Bottom part the body is black, interspersed with golden sparkles. The cricket toad lives in Mexico and some US states - in Texas, Arizona, Kansas and Colorado.

• Blomberg toad (Bufo blombergi)

the biggest toad in the world. She's bigger than a toad, yeah. The dimensions of the Blomberg toad are really impressive: the body length of a sexually mature individual often reaches 24-25 centimeters. Since the middle of the 20th century, the clumsy and completely harmless Blomberg toad, unfortunately, is almost on the verge of extinction. This "giant" lives in the tropics of Colombia and along the coast Pacific Ocean(in Colombia and Ecuador).

• Kihansi Shooter Toad (Nectophrynoides asperginis)

the smallest toad in the world. The size of a toad does not exceed the size of a five-ruble coin. The length of an adult female is 2.9 cm, the length of the male does not exceed 1.9 cm. this species The toad was distributed in Tanzania on an area of ​​2 hectares at the foot of the waterfall of the Kihansi River. Today, the Kihansi toad is on the verge of extinction and is almost never found in its natural habitat. All this happened due to the construction of a dam on the river in 1999, which by 90% limited the flow of water into natural environment habitat of these amphibians. Currently, Kihansi toads live only in zoos.

Far Eastern toad(Bufo gargarizans)

Class - amphibians
Detachment - tailless

Family - toads

Genus - toads

Appearance

Body length 56-102 mm. very similar to the common toad Bufobufo); differs mainly in the presence of spines on the tubercles of the skin of the back and a wide stripe extending from the outer surface of the parotid to the side of the body. Eardrum very small or covered with skin. The tubercles on the skin of the back are large.

Above dark gray, olive gray or olive brown with three wide longitudinal stripes. A wide dark stripe runs from the inner surface of the parotid to the side of the body. This strip in the back is torn into large spots. The belly is grayish or yellowish, without a pattern or with small spots in the back. The sex differences are the same as those of the common toad. In addition, the back of the male is often greenish or olive; there may also be gray or brown spots on the back. The male is smaller than the female; the relative length of its hind legs is somewhat longer, and its head is somewhat narrower.

Habitat

It lives in northeastern China, Korea and Russia. In Russia, it inhabits the Far East to the north to the valley of the river. Amur.

The Far Eastern toad inhabits forest zone. Within its limits, the species lives in coniferous, mixed and deciduous forests and on their edges, as well as in meadows. Although it prefers biotopes with high humidity, it is rare in shaded or waterlogged coniferous forests. At the same time, it is found in floodplains and river valleys. It does not avoid anthropogenic landscapes either: it lives not only in rural areas, but also in parks and gardens of large cities (for example, Khabarovsk: Tagirova, 1984). Not found in mountain tundra. The population density is high.

Lifestyle

Active at dusk and at night, although rainy weather occur during the day, especially young individuals. Wintering from September - October to April - May. Cavities in the ground, between tree roots and under logs are used as land shelters. Toads also overwinter in rivers and lakes.

Adult toads eat mainly insects, especially beetles and hymenoptera. Slow land animals such as slugs dominate their diet.

reproduction

Reproduction occurs in April - May in lakes, ponds, swamps, puddles, oxbow lakes, ditches and streams with stagnant or semi-flowing water, usually with dense grassy vegetation. Sometimes pairs form on the way to the breeding pond. Linear dimensions individuals, coloration, character of movement and contrast with the surrounding background are important parameters for distant recognition of a female by a male. If the female is not ready to mate, she pushes the male away and bends her body to free herself; if the female is ready to mate, she does not try to free herself. Amplexus axillary. Like the common toad, several males sometimes try to mate with one female, and balls of toads form. To synchronize the release of sperm and eggs, the mating male and female stimulate each other with tactile and vibrational signals. Females spend less time in water bodies than males. Caviar cords are wrapped around underwater plants and other objects at a depth of up to 30 cm.

The diurnal activity cycle of tadpoles is similar to that of other toad species. It is easier to evaluate it by the daily dynamics of nutrition. Nutrition intensity, estimated by filling index digestive tract(the ratio of food mass to body weight without food), increases from morning to evening, when tadpoles accumulate in the warmed shallow water of the reservoir. At dusk, the clusters become less dense, because. tadpoles migrate to the deep parts of the reservoir. At night they stay at the bottom. Tadpoles begin to rise from the bottom 3 hours before sunrise and disperse in the water layer. Shortly after sunrise, they become less active and begin to cluster. The rhythm of the food activity of tadpoles coincides with the daily dynamics of their spatial distribution, which is determined by the course of temperature and illumination.

Various are used for feeding. It is highly desirable to introduce earthworms and slugs into the diet. Toads quickly develop conditioned reflexes- for example, "knocking on glass" - food. After 2-3 weeks, the animals will get used to this signal and will gather at the feeder. You can teach them to take food from tweezers or from their hands.