The Balearic green toad (''Bufotes balearicus'') is a toad belonging to the true toad family,
Bufonidae {{Cat main, Toad
This category contains both species commonly called toads, and the true toads from the family Bufonidae {{Cat main, Toad
This category contains both species commonly called toads, and the true toads from the family Bufonidae {{Cat m ...
, from Italy and islands in the western Mediterranean Sea. It is mostly a lowland species, but can be found as high as
asl
American Sign Language (ASL) is a natural language that serves as the predominant sign language of Deaf communities in the United States of America and most of Anglophone Canada. ASL is a complete and organized visual language that is express ...
in central Italy.
Distribution
In spite of the name, this species is native to
Italy
Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...
(where it is present on all territories except for the extreme north-east, south-east and south-west) and
Corsica
Corsica ( , Upper , Southern ; it, Corsica; ; french: Corse ; lij, Còrsega; sc, Còssiga) is an island in the Mediterranean Sea and one of the 18 regions of France. It is the fourth-largest island in the Mediterranean and lies southeast of ...
.
It was probably introduced to the
Balearic Islands
The Balearic Islands ( es, Islas Baleares ; or ca, Illes Balears ) are an archipelago in the Balearic Sea, near the eastern coast of the Iberian Peninsula. The archipelago is an autonomous community and a province of Spain; its capital is ...
in prehistoric times,
where it is common but declining.
Its formerly extended into
Switzerland
). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...
and there have been (so far) unsuccessful reintroduction attempts in that country.
Its range meets that of the similar and closely related
European green toad
The European green toad (''Bufotes viridis'') is a species of toad found in steppes, mountainous areas, semi-deserts, urban areas and other habitats in mainland Europe, ranging from far eastern France and Denmark to the Balkans and Western Russi ...
(''B. viridis'') in far northeastern Italy and that of the
Sicilian green toad
The African green toad (''Bufotes boulengeri'') is a species of toad found in North Africa from Western Sahara to Egypt, and on the Italian islands of Sicily, Favignana, Lampedusa and Ustica. The populations on the Italian islands were described ...
(''B. boulengeri siculus'') in easternmost
Sicily
(man) it, Siciliana (woman)
, population_note =
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, population_blank1 =
, demographics_type1 = Ethnicity
, demographics1_footnotes =
, demographi ...
.
Taxonomy and appearance
Once considered the same as the European green toad, molecular genetic data now firmly support its status as a separate species.hybridization
Hybridization (or hybridisation) may refer to:
*Hybridization (biology), the process of combining different varieties of organisms to create a hybrid
*Orbital hybridization, in chemistry, the mixing of atomic orbitals into new hybrid orbitals
*Nu ...
where their ranges come into contact; hybridization with the Sicilian green toad is extremely limited.paratoid gland
The parotoid gland (alternatively, paratoid gland) is an external skin gland on the back, neck, and shoulder of toads and some frogs and salamanders. It can secrete a number of milky alkaloid substances (depending on the species) known collective ...
s with brownish or reddish spots.[
]
References
External links
*
*
{{Taxonbar, from=Q27653402
Bufotes
Amphibians of Europe
Articles containing video clips
Amphibians described in 1880