Frog of the Week

Common Midwife Toad (Alytes obstetricans)

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Common Midwife Toad by Christian Fischer

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Common Name: Common Midwife Toad
Scientific Name: Alytes obstetricans
Family: Alytidae
Location: Belgium, France, Germany, Italy, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Portugal, Spain, and Switzerland.
Introduced Location: United Kingdom
Size: 2.1 inches or 55 mm

The Midwife Toad is named after the fact that the male toads will carry their eggs around on their back, thigh, and legs. To keep the eggs moist, the toad takes baths in water bodies. It usually takes three to six weeks for the eggs to hatch into tadpoles so imagine how hard that must be for the males to carry them around.

photo by Christian Fischer

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