Far Eastern toad. Species: Bufo gargarizans = Far Eastern (gray) toad Distribution and habitat

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. The eardrum is 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 broad dark band extends from inner surface parotid on 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, in shaded or waterlogged coniferous forests rare. At the same time, it is found in floodplains and river valleys. It also does not avoid anthropogenic landscapes: it lives not only in countryside, then also in parks and gardens major cities(for example, Khabarovsk: Tagirova, 1984). Not found in mountain tundra. The population density is high.

Lifestyle

They are active at dusk and at night, although in rainy weather they are also found during the day, especially juveniles. 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. Their diet is dominated by slow land animals such as slugs.

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. The linear dimensions of the individual, coloration, the nature of movement and contrast with the surrounding background are important parameters for the distant recognition of the female by the 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. Feeding intensity, estimated from the digestive tract filling index (the ratio of food mass to body weight without food), increases from morning to evening, when tadpoles accumulate in the warmed shallow water of a 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.

Date: 2011-05-31

I. Khitrov, Moscow

toads terrariumists have always been popular, especially those that come from the tropics. For some reason, it is believed that equatorial natives are more exotic, brighter and more interesting, and therefore more preferable for keeping at home.
However, attractive animals are not only in tropical countries. On Far East, north of the Amur River, there is an amazingly beautiful toad. Previously, it was considered a subspecies of the common toad, but in Lately all researchers agree that this is a completely independent species. At one time the animal was called the Asiatic toad, but in recent works another designation was finally established - the Far Eastern toad (Bufo gargarizans).
This animal is of medium size, up to 10 cm long. The coloration is gray or brown with three brighter stripes above. Wide dark stripes run along the sides; the abdomen is light. Males are noticeably smaller than females and brighter colored.

Photo Far Eastern toad

In nature Far Eastern toads inhabit a forest zone with high humidity, preferring deciduous forests. They are active at dusk and at night, although in rainy weather they are also found during the day, especially juveniles. After wintering, they appear at the end of April - early May, and after 1-2 weeks they start breeding. Spawning is extended over time and can continue until June. They feed on various types of invertebrates; their diet is dominated by slow land animals, such as slugs.
Terrarium for keeping Far Eastern toads equip under the "corner of the forest." The area required for two individuals is 40x25 cm. The soil is leaf ground covered with a layer of sphagnum or forest moss. Shelters are required. in their absence, amphibians burrow into the ground. To decorate the terrarium, you can use stones, pieces of bark, tree cuts and living ones. Temperature - from 12 to 28 ° C; humidity - about 80%. Preferably daily spraying with cool (15-18 ° C) water, in this case the reservoir is not required. Lighting is moderate, using fluorescent lamps.

Photo Far Eastern toad

Various invertebrates 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.
To stimulate reproduction, artificial wintering is used with a decrease in temperature to 4-6 ° C or warm sprinkling (water temperature 30-35 ° C), and the use of hormonal injections is also widely practiced.
Producers ready for spawning are transferred to an aquarium installed obliquely, partially filled with water. Caviar in the amount of several thousand (from 2000 to 7000) pieces is deposited in the form of cords. The water temperature in the spawning ground is 12-18°C. The tadpoles hatch in 4-15 days, depending on the temperature, and leave the pond after about two months. They are fed with scalded nettles, lettuce and dry food for herbivorous fish. After metamorphosis, toads eat tubifex, bloodworms, and small insects.

Belonging to the genus toads. Lives in Asia. Previously considered a subspecies of the common toad ( Bufo bufo )

Description

Systematics

IN Soviet times 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 nominal 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. Tympanic membrane 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.

signs sexual dimorphism 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 the northeastern China , Korea and Russia. Range in Russia: Far East to the north to the river valley Amur. There, the species is distributed from west to northeast from the mouth of the river. Zeya to the mouth of the Amur Khabarovsk region. Inhabits Sakhalin and islands in Gulf of Peter the Great : Russian , 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 it loves wet habitats, it is rare in shady or waterlogged coniferous forests, but inhabits floodplains and river valleys. Can live in man-made landscapes: in the countryside, as well as in parks and gardens of large cities (such as Khabarovsk). In mountain tundra does not occur.

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

The Far Eastern toad is a widespread and numerous species in the Far East of our country. 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 drops sharply, but then recovers.

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Cantor, 1842
(= Bufo vulgaris var. sachalinensis Nikolsky, 1905; Bufo bufo asiaticus - Nikolsky, 1918)

Appearance. Most small representative groups of gray toads; the maximum body length is less than 100 mm (in China, females up to 125 mm). Leather covered with tubercles with sharp spines, as well as rounded smooth warts. The articular tubercles on the fingers are double. Coloring from above quite variable: gray, gray-olive, brownish, reddish, with or without a pattern of dark, greenish-brown or reddish spots. dark stripe on outer edge the parotid passes to the sides of the body:

Appearance of the head of the Caucasian toad, Bufo verrucosissimus (A), the common toad Bufo bufo (B) and Far Eastern toad(IN)

Sometimes a thin strip runs along the middle of the back. Below yellowish or off-white, with small dark spots. Resonators males do not.

Spreading. Inhabits the south of the Far East of Russia - the Amur region east of the Bureya river to the mouth of the Amur, the Ussuri river basin and the south of the Primorsky Territory, except for the steppe part of the Khanka lowland, Sakhalin Island. Outside of Russia, it lives in Korea and China (everywhere, except for the very south and northwest). In Transbaikalia, there is an isolated part of the range that needs to be studied.

Systematics of the species. Previously, the Far Eastern toad, like other forms of toads of the Far East, was considered as a subspecies of the European common toad. Now she has the status independent species, consisting of 2 subspecies. The nominative subspecies is represented on the territory of Russia. Bufo gargarizans gargarizans Cantor, 1842. Another subspecies, Pope's toad, Bufo gargarizans popei Matsui, 1986, lives in the Chinese provinces of Fujian and Sichuan.

Habitat. The Far Eastern toad is tied to the forest zone, within which it inhabits cedar-broad-deciduous and deciduous forests. It also occurs in open areas in meadows, fields, vegetable gardens; on Sakhalin it is common in bamboo thickets. Often found in villages and even in large cities.

Activity. Mostly active at twilight, but can sometimes be found during the day, especially in damp and shady places, as well as in cloudy and rainy weather. Usually during the day it hides under deadwood, in rotten stumps, leaf litter, rodent burrows, soil voids, under turfs.

Reproduction. spring toads awaken from the second half of April - until mid-May at an air temperature of 4-7 ° C, when the weather is still unstable, with sharp temperature drops.

breeding season extended and can last until mid-June. Animals breed, as a rule, in small reservoirs with stagnant or slow-flowing water up to 1 m deep in forests, river valleys, swampy meadows, oxbow lakes, puddles, roadside ditches, etc. Often they use the same reservoirs as the Far Eastern frog. First, males come to the reservoirs, and then females. After 2-14 days after their appearance, the toads begin to reproduce. Pair formation can occur both near water bodies and in them themselves. Pairing lasts about 3-6 hours, after which the female lays eggs in 2-3 hours in the form of a cord 1.5-4 m long and 5-7 mm thick.

eggs about 2.1 mm in diameter are arranged in 1-3 rows. The cords are wound on plants at a depth of up to 25 cm or lie at the bottom if there is no vegetation in the reservoir. The number of eggs varies from 1930 to 7500 pieces. After spawning, toads leave water bodies.

Hatching tadpoles usually occurs in 4-17 days. Larval development lasts 45-66 days. Tadpoles are characterized by group behavior: they form dense large clusters, moving in concert in the water or lying at the bottom of the reservoir. During the day they are in shallow water or near the surface of the water. Mortality on embryonic and larval stages development is high and is about 58-80% up to the stage of the yearling. The tadpoles of the Far Eastern frog have a negative effect on toad larvae, and 100% death of the latter often occurs in reservoirs with increased density. Metamorphosis passes in 3-5, less often 10 days. The underyearlings of a glossy black color appear in June - early August, being very small (up to 7-10 mm). Toads stay near water bodies for about 5-7 days, burrowing into moist soil. Then they migrate from water bodies, settling mainly during the day, but some at night.

Maturity occurs at the age of three or four years.

Nutrition. The main food of toads is various terrestrial invertebrates, mainly insects, especially beetles, besides them, hymenoptera, butterflies, orthoptera and others, as well as spiders, molluscs, etc. Tadpoles gnaw aquatic plants, feed in the water column or from the surface, often turning belly up. They hibernate in rodent burrows, under tree roots, in cellars.

Number and conservation status. The Far Eastern toad is a fairly common species. Found in a number of nature reserves. Not included in the Red Book of the USSR and Russia.

Similar types. Geographically isolated from the gray and Caucasian toads. From the Mongolian toad, which lives in the Far East, it differs in color and other features.

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