Details
Bombina orientalis
The Oriental fire-bellied toad is a small Palearctic frog with a vivid warning-colored belly. It is active by day and often gathers loosely in shallow, vegetated water.
Map: Ecoregions 2017 © RESOLVE (CC BY 4.0) · Natural Earth (PD)
It uses forest ponds, rice fields, marshes, and quiet stream margins with abundant plants. Adults move between water and the wet edge and avoid prolonged dryness.
Length is 4-5 cm and weight 12-30 g. The back is green to brown with dark blotches, while the belly is mottled orange-red and black, a warning display when threatened.
Diurnal animals float in shallow water or rest among aquatic plants. When disturbed they arch the body to expose the bright underside, advertising skin toxins to predators.
A carnivore, it takes small insects, midges, crustaceans, worms, and similar prey. It waits at the water surface or bank and lunges at moving animals.
Breeding occurs in warm months, with males calling near the surface. Eggs attach to aquatic plants, and tadpoles grow in shallow water on fine organic food.
It is listed as Least Concern. Its striking underside makes it familiar in captivity, while wild populations depend on healthy wetlands and rice-field mosaics.
