CLASS AMPHIBIA 



539 



by absorption through the skin. Toads usually hide away in some 

 crevice, burrow, or moist place during the daytime, coming out in 

 the late evening to get their meal of insects. 



Fig. 291. 



-Woodhouse's toad, Bufo woodhoiisii. (From photograph taken by A. H. 

 Wright from specimen furnished by L. M. Klauber.) 



External Features 



The toad differs markedly from the bullfrog in external appear- 

 ance. Its body is broad and thick, and its hind limbs are short. 

 It reaches a body length of 21/2 to 43^4 inches. Its skin is rough 

 and covered with warts. Its color is not as drab as a casual glance 

 would cause one to believe. If its skin is not covered with soil 

 from its burrow, the upper parts are grayish or a dull yellowish 

 brown often blotched with darker irregular areas. A light vertebral 

 stripe runs down the middle of the back from between the eyes to the 

 vent. The limbs are faintly barred, and the underparts are a light 

 yellow with or without black markings on the breast. The largest 

 warts are encircled at their base with a narrow black border. There 

 is usually only one large wart in a spot of this nature, although this 



