BBC Wildlife - UK (2020-04)

WILDMONTH

What to look out for as winter melts away to reveal

vibrant spring coloursandan abundance of life.

By Ben Hoare

Neverhasthephrase‘hangingonfordear

life’beenmoreapt.Thisphotographofa

maletoadgrippinghispartnerwithallhis

mightspeaksvolumesaboutthebiological

imperativetopassonyourgenes.So

powerfulis theurgedrivingthispumped-

upamphibian,hemighthavegrabbedany

suitableobjectinrange,werenofemale

available.Maletoadshavebeenknownto

seizeothermaletoads,frogs,smallfish,

tennisballsfloatinginthewater,eventhe

handsofvolunteersrunningtoadcrossings

onbusyroads.Sometimesseveralmaleswill

allpileon,formingwaddlingscrums.

Theno-nonsensematingpositionis known

asamplexus,fromtheLatinfor‘embrace’,

andis usedbytoadsandfrogsworldwide.

Inmanyspecies,thematuremalehas

specialadaptationstostrengthenhisgrip;

themalecommontoad,forinstance,has

a spiny‘nuptialpad’oneachthumb.This

lookslikea darkextensiontothethreeinner

fingers,andcanbeusedtodeterminea toad’s

sex.Theotherclue,perhapsmoreobvious,

is size– femaletoadsaremuchbigger,

especiallyinspringwhentheirbelliesbulge

withunfertilisedeggs.Aftermating,threads

offertilisedtoadspawnareleftlikedark

necklacesamongthewaterweed.

GET INVOLVEDFind your local toad patrol:

froglife.org/what-we-do/toads-on-roads

1 | COMMON TOAD

Get a grip

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Juan Cuetos