The Yellow-Bellied Toad (Bombina variegata) is a small amphibian in the Bombinatoridae family of fire-bellied toads.
The Yellow-Bellied Toad is grey-brown on the top with spots and warts on its back. Its underbelly and inner sides of its limbs, fingers, and toes, are grey-blue to black-blue with bright yellow to orange spots or patches. Its body is short with a rounded snout (nose). Its eardrums are not visible. It has bulging eyes, with heart-shaped pupils.
It grows to 3-6 centimetres (1-2 inches) long.
It lives in mountainous and hilly regions in countries, such as Germany, in middle and southern Europe. It likes to hide under stones and dead wood near freshwater sources.
The female lays about 45-100 eggs in water. The eggs hatch into tadpoles after about 4 days. The tadpoles have gills to breathe under water. They do not have legs but they have a tail. The tadpoles take about 49 days to change into adult toads, losing their tail, gaining legs, and developing lungs to breathe air. This is called metamorphosis.
Location of photographs: Parc Zoologique de Paris in Bois de Vincennes, France
Photographer: Martina Nicolls
Martina Nicolls: SIMILAR BUT DIFFERENT IN THE ANIMAL KINGDOM