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Fire-Bellied Toad

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The fire-bellied toad is small to medium-sized species of toad that is found naturally across mainland Europe and northern and central Asia. The fire-bellied toad is most commonly known for the brightly-coloured markings on its body, which are predominantly found on the underside of the fire-bellied toad.

The fire-bellied toad is found close to water in a variety of different habitats. Forest, woodland, temperate rainforests, marshlands, swamps and even farmland, often provides the perfect home for the fire-bellied toad. The fire-bellied toad also spends a great deal of time in water from tiny freshwater, mountain streams to large slow-flowing rivers and lakes.

There are eight different species of fire-bellied toad found throughout Europe and Asia. Despite varying slightly in size and colour, the different species of fire-bellied toad all look fairly similar having bumpy skin, webbed toes and eyes on the top of their heads. The different species of fire-bellied toad of so similar that two in particular are able to interbreed and produce fertile offspring.

The skin colour of the fire-bellied toad depends on the species but can range from brown to yellow, to green, to orange and even white. The skin of the fire-bellied toad is known to be toxic to some animals including humans.

The fire-bellied toad is a carnivorous animal as the fire-bellied toad has a diet that mainly consists of small invertebrates like bugs and insects. The fire-bellied toad is able to catch its prey by shooting out its long, sticky tongue which grabs onto the insect and pulls it into the open mouth of the fire-bellied toad. The fire-bellied toad is also known to eat spiders, larvae and the odd worm.

Due to its small size, the fire-bellied toad has numerous predators within its natural environment. Foxes, cats, snakes, lizards and birds are the most common predators of the fire-bellied toad along with some species of large fish. The eggs and tadpoles of the fire-bellied toad also have a number of aquatic predators in the water.

The fire-bellied toad mates during the late spring, when the female fire-bellied toad lays between 50 and 300 sticky eggs onto a plant stem or leaf that hangs over the water. The eggs of the fire-bellied toad are joined together and are known as toadspawn, but it can take a couple of years before the fire-bellied toad tadpoles have full transformed into adult toads.

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Fire-Bellied Toad Facts

Kingdom: A level of classifying all living things on earth, as similar species are broken into 5 groups including plants, animals and fungi....	Animalia
Phylum: A level of classifying animals within the animal kingdom. Phylum are further divided into subgroups called classes....	Chordata
Class: A level of classifying animals in a phylum. Classes are then sub-divided into further groups known as orders....	Amphibia
Order: A level used to classify animals. Classes are broken into sub-groups known as order, which are broken down further into families....	Anura
Family: A level of classifying animals within an order. Orders are broken down in families and families are broken down further into smaller groups called genus....	Bombinatoridae
Genus: A level of classifying animals within a family. Families are divided into sub-groups called genus which generally contain one or two animal species....	Bombina

Scientific Name:	Bombina
Type:	Amphibian
Diet:	Carnivore
Size (L):	4cm - 7cm (1.5in - 3in)
Weight:	20g - 80g (0.7oz - 2.8oz)
Top Speed:	8km/h (5mph)
Life Span:	10 - 15 years
Lifestyle:	Solitary
Conservation Status: The conservation status of a species is an indicator of the likelihood of that species remaining extant either in the present day or the near future. Many factors are taken into account when assessing the conservation s...	Least Concern

Colour:	Black, Green, Grey, Brown, Yellow, Orange, Red
Skin Type:	Permeable
Favourite Food:	Insects
Habitat: The term habitat is used to describe a specific area where a particular animal lives, within an environment. Many animals have adapted to requiring specific conditions which can only be found in their natural habitat su...	Forests, jungle and marshes
Average Clutch Size:	200
Main Prey: When an animal is referred to prey, it means that the animal is either hunted or caught for food. Animals that are referred to as prey are generally hunted by bigger animals, although there are a number of exceptions....	Insects, Worms, Spiders
Predators: When an animal is referred to as a predator, it means that the animal either hunts or catches other animals. Predatory animals are generally dominant within their environment and will generally hunt animals smaller than...	Foxes, Snakes, Birds
Distinctive Features:	Brightly coloured belly and long toes

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