Toad is an amphibian animal. Among the vertebrate animals the amphibians live in water at the first stage of their life, respire by gills and when mature, live on land and respire with the help of lungs and integument. For this reason they are known as amphibian animal. The scientific name of Toad is Bufo melanostictus.
Following are the characteristics of amphibian animals:
- They are cold blooded animals.
- The integument is rough and the integumentary glands keep the integument moist.
- They have two pairs of appendages and a three-chambered heart.
- Females lay eggs and the fertilization takes place outside the body.
- At the primary stage of life cycle generally tadpole larva is seen.
- At the tadpole stage they respire with gills and when mature with lungs.
- In the fore limb there are four and in the hind limb there are five fingers.
Habitat: The toad lives in shady and dark moist places, corners of the house, in the bushes or in the stacks of bricks or in pools. In Bangladesh frogs and toads are more commonly seen. Besides there is another kind of frog called “Tree frog”.
Habit: Toad is cold-blooded animal. During the daytime they hide in the dark and moist places. They come out at night in search of food and eat live worms, insects, earthworms and even snails. Temperature of their body varies along with that of the environment. They cannot stay in dry and sunny environments. For this reason, during winter we cannot feel the presence of toads. During this time, they lead an inactive life in the holes or crevice of trees. They do not even come out to have food. They get energy from the reserved fatty materials inside the body. This mode of inactive life of toad during winter is called hibernation.
At the beginning of the summer season, toads come out of the holes. Rainy period is the reproductive season of toad. To attract the male for sexual contact, the toad calls the female by making croaking sounds. Most part of their life cycle is spent on land. During breeding time they have to come to water. Toad hops around when they moves on land and swims when in water. The body colour of toad is grey, as a result of which, it can hide easily at the corner of the houses, in crevices of trees, and under stack of bricks etc.
