Natterjack Toad (Pyrenees' Biodiversity)

Natterjack Toad

Epidalea calamita

Summary ²

The natterjack toad (Epidalea calamita, formerly Bufo calamita) is a toad native to sandy and heathland areas of Europe. Adults are 60–70 mm in length and are distinguished from common toads by a yellow line down the middle of the back. They have relatively short legs, and this gives them a distinctive gait, contrasting with the hopping movement of many other toad species.

Distribution and habitat ³

The species lives in the Southwestern and Central Europe: Portugal, Spain, France, Southwestern Ireland, Great Britain, Belgium, The Netherlands, Luxembourg, Germany, Switzerland, Austria near the Czech border, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Poland, Western Ukraine, Byelorussia, Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia (northwards to Tallin City), Western Russia (Kaliningrad Province), Denmark and Sweden.

Bufo calamita inhabits mainly open, well-warmed landscapes with light, sandy soils. There it lives in sand dunes, glades of pine forests, gardens, parks, fields, sand and gravel quarries and meadows. In the daytime it hides in heaps of stones, in sandy soil and under debris. Reproduction takes place in shallow, well-warmed ponds, puddles and ditches, including those with admixture of salt water on the shore of the Baltic Sea.