Iberian Midwife Toad,Sapo-parteiro-comum

Description:

Five separate species of midwife toad are found across western Europe, northern Africa, and Majorca. Shy, nocturnal animals, they give away their presence by their ringing call. During the day, the midwife toad hides under stones and logs or in underground tunnels. It often hides in dry, sandy soil, which it finds easier to dig into using its forelegs and snout. It emerges at dusk to forage for food, but always returns to the same hiding places before dawn. During the winter, the common midwife toad hibernates in its hole or in a burrow that has been deserted by a small animal.

Habitat:

The Iberian Midwife Toad or Sapo Partero Ibérico (Alytes cisternasii) is a species of frog in the Discoglossidae family. It is found in Portugal and Spain. Its natural habitats are temperate forests, temperate shrubland, Mediterranean-type shrubby vegetation, intermittent rivers, intermittent freshwater marshes, pastureland, and aquaculture ponds. It is threatened by habitat loss. Midwife toads (Alytes) are a genus of frogs in the Discoglossidae family, and are found in most of Europe and northwestern Africa. Characteristic of these toad-like frogs is their parental care: the males carry a string of fertilised eggs on their back, hence the name "midwife". The female expels a strand of eggs, which the male fertilizes externally. He then wraps them around his legs to protect them from predators in the water. When they are ready to hatch, the male wades into shallow water, where he allows the tadpoles to leap out of their eggs. Five separate species of midwife toad are found across western Europe, northern Africa, and Majorca. Midwife toads can be found in the snows of the Pyrenees, living at heights of 5,000–6,500 feet in areas such as the Néouvielle massif. Unlike the thin tongue of many amphibians, the midwife's tongue is round and flattened; its family name, Discoglossidae, means "round tongue". In parts of France midwife toads live in sand dunes by the sea. They share this habitat with natterjack toads.

Notes:

Spotted in my backyard,it's a endangerous animal ,we have a population present in ower yard since we lived here(1987),they show up every year,this was the first time this season :-) they still here without problems