Category Zoology

 The Silent Valley torrent toad is a beautifully coloured toad. It is brick red, with bright orange throat, chest, and belly. It has small tubercles on its head and flanks, and rough skin. It is not very agile, and can only hop for short distances. This toad is found in the Silent Valley in Kerala, and not much is known about it, because it is a rare species.

Silent Valley itself is a mysterious place, of dense virgin rainforest and deep gorges that is the home of many rare and unusual plants and animals not found anywhere else in the world.

The gliding frog is a medium-sized frog found in Nagaland. This frog can glide for a considerable distance by the flap of skin in the lateral sides of the body for which they are commonly known as ‘gliding frogs’. The gliding frog is generally found on big boulders and rocks near swift flowing hill streams. This is an edible frog, attaining a length of 62 mm. The upper surface of the body of a gliding frog is slate-coloured, and it generally has a white belly. A number of minute black spots are present on the throat and chest. This is a nocturnal species.

     The common Indian toad belongs to the family of true toads, Bufonidae. Distinguishing characteristics of the family include lack of teeth, lots of warts, and a pair of parotoid glands behind the eyes that secrete toxins. These toads are common in drainage ditches in rural and urban areas throughout the Indian subcontinent, and in Southeast Asia. During the day, these toads hide at the base of tree trunks, under stones, and boulders. They often come out at night to feed on insects swarming under streetlamps.

            The common Indian toad is a big toad- around 165 mm in length. It is brown or yellowish brown in colour and its body has a lot of warts on the upper surface. Males in this species are bright yellow in colour, and much smaller in size in comparison with females. These toads eat an assortment of invertebrates-beetles, crickets, grass-hoppers and earthworms, to name a few. They are clever hunters, well aware of the precariousness of food supply, and hence, will rarely pass up the chance for a heavy meal. They are useful to us in that they eat a lot of the insects that we consider a nuisance! 

As its name suggests, this toad is a burrowing toad. It comes out only at night, and burrows with great ease. It is a medium sized toad that is pale brown in colour, with darker spots from the middle of its throat to its belly. It is found throughout India, in Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala, Orissa, and Tamil Nadu.

This toad is unusual, because, unlike other toads it does not eat black ants, beetles or earthworms. It eats only termites! It is also unusual in that it is more at home on land than in water. It walks and runs on land, and if it is thrown into water, it will jump back on land as quickly as possible!

  The termite nest frog is a moderately small-sized frog. It possess a total length of 45 mm, and the upper surface of its body is generally olive brown in colour, with dark markings. The life of the termite nest frog is very interesting. It is mostly found in termitaria, or under stones in association with large black scorpions. When disturbed, they crawl over the scorpions, but when the scorpions pass over them in turn, they flatten out and freeze. This species is an excellent burrower in soft soil, and usually remains with the nose above the ground. It is also a good climber, and can easily climb walls up to a considerable height. This frog is found in South India. 

  Some toads are really unusual. The European common toad can be found across three continents, including Africa. They secrete a toxin that makes them unpleasant to predators. They sometimes stand up on their toes in a defensive posture. But they have no teeth, and aside from tasting bad and attempting to look menacing, these gentle creatures have no other defense. The Asian horned toad has fleshy horns projecting over its eyes that make it look exactly like a dead leaf, lying on the ground. The Asian tree toad has discs on its fingers and toes and horizontal pupils while the natter jack toads have special sounds that can be heard over several kilometres!