Details
Epidalea calamita
The natterjack toad is a small Palearctic toad of sandy heaths, dunes, and open coastal grasslands. Its quick, running gait gives it the alternative name running toad.
Map: Ecoregions 2017 © RESOLVE (CC BY 4.0) · Natural Earth (PD)
It favors dunes, heathland, saltmarsh edges, and open grassland with shallow pools. Sunny, sparsely vegetated ground and temporary water are central to breeding habitat.
Length is 6-8 cm and weight 20-60 g. A thin yellow stripe usually runs down the back, and the short hind legs and warty skin suit a low, running movement.
Nocturnal adults hide by day in sand or under cover. Rather than bounding like many frogs, they scurry across open ground, and breeding males call loudly from pool margins.
A carnivore, it eats small invertebrates such as beetles, ants, flies, and spiders. It patrols bare ground and seizes moving prey at close range.
Breeding takes place in shallow pools in spring and early summer. Females lay strings of eggs, and tadpoles must grow quickly before temporary water dries.
It is listed as Least Concern, but local populations can be vulnerable where breeding pools are lost or open sandy habitat becomes overgrown.
