Common Name: Balkan Spadefoot Toad or just Balkan Spadefoot
Scientific Name: Pelobates balcanicus
Family: Pelobatidae – European Spadefoot Toad family
Location: Albania, Bulgaria, Greece, North Macedonia, Romania, Serbia, and Turkey
Female Size: 1.9 – 3.9 inches (48–100 mm)
Male Size: 1.8 – 3.7 inches (46–94 mm)
The Balkan Spadefoot Toad spends most of their time burrowed underground as part of their fossorial lifestyle. Most toads have adapted the fossorial lifestyle and the Balkans Spadefoot is no exception. The spadefoot toad has even evolved spades or keratinized sheaths on their rear feet to help them with burrowing into the ground.
The toad only comes up to the surface to reproduce after warm, heavy rains. These rains fill temporary water bodies where the toads lay their eggs. The male toads call out from these waters to attract female toads. Once the female toad arrives, the male toad grasps her from behind in amplexus. Then, she lays her eggs and the male toad fertilizes them.
Researchers just described the Balkans Spadefoot Toad in 2019. Before, it was considered a subspecies of the Eastern Spadefoot Toad (Pelobates syriacus) but now its a full species. Researchers compared the results of molecular tests in the whole family of Pelobatidae and found a new species.
The International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List assess the Balkan Spadedfoot Toad as Least Concern for Extinction. The toad has a wide range and presumed large population.