European Fire-bellied Toad

The European fire-bellied toad (Bombina bombina) is a fire-bellied toad native to mainland Europe.
== Description ==
European fire-bellied toads have a bright lime green dorsal traversed by black spots, and orange to bright red bellies with black bars and stripes. The skin is mildly bumpy, the eyes set high to suit a semi-aquatic life style, and also well webbed back feet. Color and body variations will be described for each of the other 3 species commonly sold as or mistaken for Oriental fire-bellied toads. They are the largest of the bombina family. They are commonly darker than Fire-bellied toads from Asia.
The European fire-bellied toad is 26–60 mm long and may weigh 2-13.9 g. The body is depressed. Above, the skin is densely covered in low tubercles with black horny spines. There are no parotids behind the eyes but paired and arched gland complexes at the neck. The eardrums are not visible. Inner vocal sacs are present at the throat and webbings are well developed at the hind feet. The pupils are heart-shaped. The body colour is grey, brown or green with dark spots on the upper side and blackish with larger orange or red and smaller white spots on the underside. The skin produces a poison to protect itself from bacteria and fungi or the animal from vertebrates. This poison is irritating to mucous membranes. The eggs are brown above and lighter below. They are 1.4-1.8 mm large coated with a transparent jelly of 5–8 mm in diameter. Tadpoles may reach a length of 55 mm and are brownish above with two longitudinal pale bands along the backbone. The mouth field is triangular and the flipper is reticulated.
When they shed their skin, they bloat themselves and make a coughing sound, then start to tear the old skin off with their mouth, and eat it for nutrition, to reveal newer, brighter skin.
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