Range

Europe is the native home of the midwife toad. Here they can be found in Belgium, France, Germany, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Portugal, Spain and Switzerland.

A number of populations have been introduced to the United Kingdom.

The population along the coast of Portugal to the west of Lisbon has been declared extinct.

Habitat

Midwife toads make their home in temperate forests and semi-arid areas. Aquatic habitats occupied by the midwife toad include slow moving rivers and stagnant permanent ponds.

They have been shown to persist in areas where the habitat was modified including agricultural land and urban habitats.

Reproduction

Breeding takes place in the spring and summer. Males will call at night to attract a female. She will then present herself to him and he will grab around her. This causes the female to expel an egg mass which is fertilized by the male. He will then wrap them around his legs. The male may carry two females eggs at a time.

It takes between three and six weeks for the young to hatch. At this point the male will deposit them in to a small, permanent water body. This method protects the eggs against predation which they would face if they spent their whole time in the water. From this point they receive no further parental care.

Once the eggs hatch they are a larva or tadpole which will reach a length of between 5 and 8cm (2-3.1in) long before they metamorphose in to an adult.

Sexual maturity is reached between two and three years old.

Behavior

As an adult they spend almost their entire life on land. Tadpoles are restricted to the water.

They are nocturnal and will emerge at night to feed. During the day they will hide under logs to stop them drying out. They also have the ability to dig their own hole if they cannot find one.

During the winter months the adults may hibernate.

The call of males sounds like ‘poo, poo’ and is emitted once every 1-3 seconds.

Predators and Threats

Predators of adults include snakes such as adders and birds while tadpoles are hunted by fish and aquatic insects.

To defend themselves they can use a potent smelling toxin which is excreted from the warts on their back. This can only be produced by adults.

Another defense method is to fill itself up with air and make themselves as big as possible. They will also stand as tall as they can.

Humans have affected the population of common midwife toads through habitat loss to agricultural development, habitat fragmentation and the introduction of predators.

Quick facts

While they are named midwife toads it is actually the male which cares for the eggs.