Green Toad (Bufo viridis)
World wide Distribution: This is a wide spread species including; N. Africa, the Mediterranean countries, Middle and S. Europe to W. Asia and Mongolia.
In Lebanon: Common where ever there are suitable breeding pools. As it is a pioneering species it quickly colonizes temporary mating pools as well as ponds, streams and rivers and irrigation channels.
Description: It is a middle sized toad reaching a total body length of 80 mm. Its eyes on the top of its head are distant from each other and have horizontal pupils. The glands behind the eye are large and nearly parallel. The skin is warty. The colour is variable but the back ground color is whitish to gray with bright green spots that can fuse to be bands in some individuals.
Behavior: The Green toad eats insects earthworms and some mollusks. It is mostly nocturnal, sheltering in the day time under stones or in burrows. The eggs are laid in strips in breeding pools. If handled the skin glands secrete a toxic secretion. You have been warned!
The Green Toad is only found in water during the breeding season, as an adult it spends most of its time far from water foraging for its food at night. As its name suggests it has bright green patches on a duller green/gray back ground. As with other toads (but not frogs) it is warty – that is covered its skin is rough with small bumps.
Early stage Green Toad tadpoles in a mountain pool – small and jet black feeding voraciously on algae –they need to grow quickly who knows how long the pool will last.