Bufonidae 



When taken in the hand, the Oak Toad gives a rather musical 

 chirping sound, like that of a young bird. 



BUFO ALVARIUS, GIRARD 



Identification Characteristics 

 Colour: Greyish or brownish green, of either light or dark 

 shade. The sparsely scattered small warts are orange in colour, 

 sometimes rimmed with dark. Underparts light. (Fig. no.) 

 The throat and breast of the female are mottled with grey. Iris 

 light or dark metallic yellow, with a prominent veining of red. 

 The iris is dark in front of and behind the oval black pupil. Fin- 

 gers and toes tipped with black or red-brown. (For colouration, 

 see Colour Plate V.) 



Measurements: Size large, i. e. length 5 inches or more. The 

 head is short. Its length is contained 3^ to 4 times in the total 

 length. Legs relatively short; the length of the leg to the heel 

 is not equal to the length of the body forward to the ear. Femur 

 very short. Tibia somewhat longer than femur. Foot very 

 little longer than tibia. (Fig. in.) 



Structure: Skin leathery and smooth. Head rounded in 

 front. (Fig. 108.) The ear is a very distinct vertical oval. The 

 bony crests of the head are conspicuous, curved ridges. There is 

 one on each side, which follows the upper border of the eye and 

 curves outward and downward to the ear. (Fig, 109.) The 

 parotoids are long and oval, greatly elevated, and very wide apart 

 at their posterior ends. (Fig. 109.) They are separated from the 

 eye by the width of the crest only. Small, flat, rounded warts are 

 scattered over the whole upper surface. There is a large oval 

 wart on the femur and a long one — or a line of shorter ones — 

 on the tibia (along the margin that is nearest the femur when the 

 leg is folded) . (Fig. 1 09.) These glands are considerably elevated, 

 and are very conspicuous. There may be a gland similar to these 

 on the forearm. There are one or more round or oval white warts 

 behind the angle of the jaw. (Figs. 107 and 108.) The foot is 

 thick and has a conspicuous ridge along the inner edge of the 

 tarsus. Both inner and outer sole tubercles are present. (Fig. 

 III.) The web is short and thick; it extends to the tips of the 

 toes, but is deeply indented. There are two very large palm 

 tubercles. (Fig. 1 10.) 



106 



