16 November 2022

Toads

A few days ago we were invited to dinner by our neighbors across the street. They're the ones who live full-time in Blois but have a house here that the family has owned since about 1970. One subject that came up over the course of the evening was the new LIDL supermarket being built in Saint-Aignan, out near the Beauval zoological park. Construction has been halted, somebody said, because work crews have found endangered frogs living on or near the construction site.


I've searched around on our regional newspaper's web site but haven't found confirmation. I did however find an article about plans to enlarge a LIDL warehouse in Brittany that have been scrubbed because endangered species of frogs have been found living there. Maybe the person at the dinner party was just confused.


Did you know that there are no significant biological or evolutionary differences between the animals we call either frogs or toads? "Toad is a common name for certain frogs, especially of the family Bufonidae, that are characterized by dry, leathery skin, short legs", etc., says the Wiki article about toads. I didn't know that. Wikipedia calls toads the "warty" variety of tailless amphibians that are called frogs or toads, but toads aren't really warty, and you won't get warts from touching them. "The use of the term 'frog' in common names usually refers to species that are aquatic or semi-aquatic and have smooth, moist skins; the term 'toad' generally refers to species that are terrestrial with dry, warty skins.There are numerous exceptions to this rule," says the Wiki article about frogs.


The animals that we call toads and that also seem to breed in the pond outside our back gate aren't numerous right now. I see one or two once in a while, especially when I'm out before dawn. However, a few years ago there were hundreds of them in and around the pond, including in our yard and all round our house. We had to be careful where we stepped to make sure we didn't injure or kill them. The dog (Callie at that time) went wild chasing and sniffing them. Cars on the paved road through the hamlet were not as cautious as we were, and dozens of flattened toad carcasses were scattered all around. Above are toads that I photographed back then.

8 comments:

  1. This is the new thing I learned today, thank you.
    BettyAnn

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  2. I agree that your neighbors got their information mixed up. My mother really believed that toads would give me warts. I didn't believe her.

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  3. Replies
    1. Thanks Jan. If I understand correctly, the female is riding on the male's back. She lays eggs in water and the male fertilizes them.

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  4. Brilliant photos. And, no, I did not know that about toads and frogs.

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  5. I always liked Mr. Toad of Toad Hall - other than that I know little about them. Though recently NPR had a story about the National Park Service asking people to not lick toads they find in the park, lol.

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  6. I don’t know why they stopped work because of frogs…- they’ll eat ‘em all anyway won’t they? 🤣

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    1. Not all frogs are edible. The flesh of some species is toxic to humans.

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