WEBVTT 1 00:00:00.520 --> 00:00:02.960 Oh hey, it's the dog in the backseat of the 2 00:00:03.000 --> 00:00:06.400 car next to you. Ali Ward back with episode three 3 00:00:06.519 --> 00:00:11.320 of somologies, right sized, classroom friendly versions of our deep 4 00:00:11.359 --> 00:00:15.199 dive ologies classics, and this one makes me so happy 5 00:00:15.640 --> 00:00:17.600 because toads get it. 6 00:00:17.679 --> 00:00:36.479 Hoppylogymologylogiologies. 7 00:00:36.880 --> 00:00:40.920 Are toads the unsung underdogs? Are they wardy friends yet 8 00:00:40.960 --> 00:00:43.000 to be made? Do they belong in a heap of 9 00:00:43.600 --> 00:00:48.320 canceled beasts who don't deserve our admiration? You'll find out. Okay, boophology, 10 00:00:48.759 --> 00:00:51.159 let's go down a tot hole. So boofology is a 11 00:00:51.200 --> 00:00:54.399 word that I did not make up, although it's seldom cited. 12 00:00:54.560 --> 00:00:59.240 To be fair. A twenty eleven Reptile Magazine article titled 13 00:00:59.479 --> 00:01:03.159 Oh to a Toad uses the term boofhology one oh one, 14 00:01:03.280 --> 00:01:06.560 So I'm going with it. There's also herpetology, which is 15 00:01:06.640 --> 00:01:11.640 reptiles and amphibians. There's about tractcology, which is the subfield 16 00:01:11.680 --> 00:01:14.840 that is just amphibians, which I may have pronounced wrong. 17 00:01:14.879 --> 00:01:17.040 But what if I want to do a frog episode 18 00:01:17.079 --> 00:01:19.799 down the line or one on Newts So I'm going 19 00:01:20.200 --> 00:01:23.920 boofhology because it exists, people use it sometimes. Also, its 20 00:01:24.000 --> 00:01:27.719 root is buffo and the Latin for toad, which may 21 00:01:27.760 --> 00:01:31.719 come from a word meaning slimy plant, or it may 22 00:01:31.760 --> 00:01:36.359 also come from bouffara, meaning to puff up, and buffoonery 23 00:01:36.599 --> 00:01:40.560 is a related word. It's debatable, like toads for some people. 24 00:01:40.799 --> 00:01:44.040 Speaking of people, get ready to hear a scientist passionately 25 00:01:44.120 --> 00:01:48.319 describe a love of toads. She's so human, I cherish her. 26 00:01:48.680 --> 00:01:51.280 She was once the program manager for the Association of 27 00:01:51.319 --> 00:01:54.480 Fish and Wildlife Agencies, where she also served as a 28 00:01:54.560 --> 00:02:00.159 national coordinator for Partners in Amphibian and Reptile Conservation. She 29 00:02:00.239 --> 00:02:04.879 worked as a biological science technician for the us GS, 30 00:02:04.959 --> 00:02:09.000 the US Geological Survey, and now works in the nonprofit 31 00:02:09.000 --> 00:02:13.439 ecology sector at Conservation Science Partners. But it's still in 32 00:02:13.479 --> 00:02:17.639 the field a bit out toading and salamandering and frogging 33 00:02:17.719 --> 00:02:21.280 and neoting. So hop on into a conversation with amphibian 34 00:02:21.400 --> 00:02:26.840 enthusiast and boufologist Priya Ninjapa. Okay, but what makes a toad? 35 00:02:27.599 --> 00:02:30.120 Straight away? What is the difference between frog and a toad? 36 00:02:30.520 --> 00:02:37.759 Okay, So generally speaking, most frogs have like smooth skin, 37 00:02:38.479 --> 00:02:41.960 they tend to need a closer association with water or 38 00:02:42.000 --> 00:02:47.319 aquatic environments. And then the toads that we traditionally know, 39 00:02:47.479 --> 00:02:49.360 you know, with the big kind of stout fat bodies 40 00:02:49.400 --> 00:02:52.439 and the warts and everything, they typically can be away 41 00:02:52.439 --> 00:02:55.479 from water longer and they don't need as much of 42 00:02:55.520 --> 00:02:58.039 that sort of direct moisture the way that frogs do. 43 00:02:58.199 --> 00:03:02.319 And then they also secrete these toxins from their skin 44 00:03:02.960 --> 00:03:05.680 and so yeah, and so like that's the biggest thing. 45 00:03:05.719 --> 00:03:07.680 There are some frogs that do that as well, but 46 00:03:08.800 --> 00:03:12.000 pretty much all toads have some sort of gland you 47 00:03:12.039 --> 00:03:14.960 know that they and they secrete some sort of bufo toxin. 48 00:03:15.280 --> 00:03:16.879 And so to. 49 00:03:18.800 --> 00:03:22.039 Such a good punk band, right, yeah, that would be 50 00:03:23.800 --> 00:03:26.719 is there skin thicker? And what exactly are the worts? 51 00:03:26.759 --> 00:03:28.800 Are they air quotes warts? 52 00:03:31.879 --> 00:03:36.520 That's a good question. These warts on toads are associated 53 00:03:36.599 --> 00:03:40.159 with these They have mucous glands and granular glands, but 54 00:03:40.199 --> 00:03:42.280 the granular glands are the ones that are responsible for 55 00:03:42.319 --> 00:03:45.919 the toxic secretions and it's for an anti predator defense, 56 00:03:45.919 --> 00:03:47.960 so that when anything, you know, grabs it, it just 57 00:03:48.000 --> 00:03:49.719 tastes bad and they spit it out, you know, or 58 00:03:49.759 --> 00:03:52.000 sometimes they'll get sick. Some of the toads produce some 59 00:03:52.039 --> 00:03:56.960 pretty strong toxins. So all toads are frogs, but not 60 00:03:57.039 --> 00:03:59.199 all frogs are toads. 61 00:03:58.280 --> 00:04:02.159 I love it's the old this succulent, Yes, like all 62 00:04:02.319 --> 00:04:06.759 cactus are succulents, not all succulents are cacti. Yes, exactly. 63 00:04:07.199 --> 00:04:09.400 Like in the amphibian world, there's like like nuts, you know, 64 00:04:09.439 --> 00:04:12.000 like all nuts are salamanders, but not all salamanders are nuts, 65 00:04:12.000 --> 00:04:15.400 and newts are too salamanders, like toads are to frogs 66 00:04:15.439 --> 00:04:19.920 kind of okay, early lineages of toads are they look 67 00:04:20.000 --> 00:04:23.199 more frog like, okay, and so like over time those 68 00:04:23.240 --> 00:04:27.000 different features, the more like stout bodies and uh, bigger 69 00:04:27.079 --> 00:04:29.680 warts and glands and things like that, appear kind of 70 00:04:29.759 --> 00:04:33.879 later in evolutionary history. They came after frogs. So somewhere 71 00:04:33.879 --> 00:04:38.240 in that like Cretaceous Cenozoic period they've been around. 72 00:04:38.319 --> 00:04:42.959 So to recap, toads are frogs, and toads have no teeth. Yes, 73 00:04:43.040 --> 00:04:46.000 for warts, They've got a poison gland behind their eye 74 00:04:46.199 --> 00:04:49.240 called a parotoid gland, thought to have been like an 75 00:04:49.480 --> 00:04:53.639 adrenal gland, just gone bonkers. Oh and another souped up 76 00:04:53.759 --> 00:04:57.040 special feature not available on the standard frog model. 77 00:04:57.199 --> 00:05:00.319 And then the other really weird thing is it? Toads 78 00:05:00.360 --> 00:05:04.279 have this thing called the bitters organ, okay, which sits 79 00:05:04.319 --> 00:05:08.079 like kind of between the kidneys and the gonads. And 80 00:05:08.360 --> 00:05:10.800 I think both males and females have them, but they're 81 00:05:11.040 --> 00:05:15.639 thought to be like a primitive ovary or like it's 82 00:05:15.720 --> 00:05:19.199 kind of like a spare set of follicles. But the 83 00:05:19.240 --> 00:05:22.000 males have it too, and so like in experiments in 84 00:05:22.040 --> 00:05:27.360 the lab, they've removed the testes and all of a sudden, 85 00:05:27.360 --> 00:05:29.560 this bitter's organ like is like, oh, okay, time for 86 00:05:29.600 --> 00:05:31.360 me to come into play, and then like it starts 87 00:05:31.360 --> 00:05:32.079 forming eggs. 88 00:05:32.519 --> 00:05:35.439 How long have toads had a place in her life 89 00:05:35.800 --> 00:05:37.000 and her heart? 90 00:05:37.319 --> 00:05:40.480 I remember my first toad sighting, which was in my 91 00:05:40.720 --> 00:05:45.240 mom's garden in Iowa, and it just would like hop 92 00:05:45.399 --> 00:05:48.120 along the tomato plants and eat things, and like eventually 93 00:05:48.160 --> 00:05:50.439 we figured out that we could build a little toad 94 00:05:50.519 --> 00:05:52.639 hut like out of a pot, you know, and just 95 00:05:53.079 --> 00:05:55.120 put that in there and it would just, you know, 96 00:05:55.240 --> 00:05:57.040 go and hang out. And I was so sad on 97 00:05:57.040 --> 00:05:59.120 the days when I didn't see it, Like I'm sure 98 00:05:59.120 --> 00:06:01.160 it was all seasonal. I don't remember, you know, the 99 00:06:01.160 --> 00:06:05.000 specifics of it, And I do remember other people's houses 100 00:06:05.040 --> 00:06:07.759 where there'd be one like sitting under the gutter eating 101 00:06:07.800 --> 00:06:10.160 the flies and stuff like that. And I liked other 102 00:06:10.399 --> 00:06:12.560 critters too, but there was something about the toads that 103 00:06:12.600 --> 00:06:15.000 I just kept coming back to that I just kept like, 104 00:06:15.120 --> 00:06:16.959 I don't know, I just love them. They're just they 105 00:06:17.040 --> 00:06:19.279 just have that face, you know, it's just that face. 106 00:06:19.439 --> 00:06:21.959 I love that you had a toad friend, Like the 107 00:06:22.000 --> 00:06:24.439 toad was your friend. It kind of was my friend. 108 00:06:24.920 --> 00:06:26.800 Are the males bigger than the females. 109 00:06:27.480 --> 00:06:30.360 The females are bigger than the males. Oh by a lot, Yeah, 110 00:06:30.399 --> 00:06:34.160 by a lot. Yes, Oh yeah, usually by quite a bit. 111 00:06:34.279 --> 00:06:37.800 Oh. And both have tympanyms to hear sound, such as, 112 00:06:37.839 --> 00:06:42.199 for example, the romantic screamy love ballads man toads make 113 00:06:42.519 --> 00:06:45.800 by inflating an air sack like a big extra chin, 114 00:06:46.120 --> 00:06:48.399 kind of like having a subwoofer on your face. 115 00:06:48.680 --> 00:06:51.000 So another thing that's really cool about toads is they 116 00:06:51.040 --> 00:06:56.480 have all like a lot more bony material in their skull, 117 00:06:56.560 --> 00:07:00.680 like their their skulls are like highly ossified, and those 118 00:07:01.600 --> 00:07:03.920 crests and the shape of those crests and stuff are 119 00:07:03.959 --> 00:07:08.079 what you can use to distinguish species when they are 120 00:07:08.360 --> 00:07:09.839 like in the same area, and you have a lot 121 00:07:09.839 --> 00:07:13.240 of similar looking little brown toads with warts other than 122 00:07:13.240 --> 00:07:16.279 the wartz per spot certain species. Yeah, no, it's yeah, 123 00:07:16.279 --> 00:07:18.399 it's it's warts per spot. So like in the like 124 00:07:18.560 --> 00:07:23.000 dark brown spot, there'll be like two or three warts 125 00:07:23.040 --> 00:07:25.759 if it's an American toad, and then if it's a 126 00:07:25.800 --> 00:07:28.399 Fowler's toad or something or wood houses toad, they'll have 127 00:07:28.480 --> 00:07:32.480 more in each like dark spot. And then there's like 128 00:07:32.560 --> 00:07:35.240 the shape of the parotoid glands, which are the things 129 00:07:35.240 --> 00:07:38.079 that produce like behind their eyes that produce that more 130 00:07:38.120 --> 00:07:42.279 of the toxic secretion. And then those little crests and 131 00:07:42.360 --> 00:07:45.560 bosses and ridges and everything. That's how they differentiate themselves. 132 00:07:45.560 --> 00:07:47.720 But yeah, so they have these really cool skulls. Frogs 133 00:07:47.759 --> 00:07:48.160 don't have that. 134 00:07:48.519 --> 00:07:52.480 So next time you see a toad, absolutely okay to say, hey, 135 00:07:52.519 --> 00:07:56.800 what's up Your skull looks totally cool. But where can 136 00:07:56.920 --> 00:07:59.759 you see a toad? But there are toads on all. 137 00:07:59.720 --> 00:08:04.720 Consonance everywhere except Australia, which right now is only being 138 00:08:04.759 --> 00:08:06.399 overrun by the invasive cane toad. 139 00:08:06.759 --> 00:08:11.959 Oh really, yes, Australia got a little bit ripped off 140 00:08:12.160 --> 00:08:14.480 on the toad card and then they got paved and. 141 00:08:14.560 --> 00:08:17.240 They got yeah kind of yeah, and they didn't used 142 00:08:17.279 --> 00:08:19.399 to be on Madagascar either, But now there's a different 143 00:08:19.480 --> 00:08:24.399 toad that is found on Madagascar that's also super invasive 144 00:08:24.480 --> 00:08:27.480 and yeah, wreaking havoc. So yeah, unfortunately the toads that 145 00:08:27.519 --> 00:08:30.240 are finding their way to places where they never were, 146 00:08:30.279 --> 00:08:33.159 like the ones, you just don't want to be there. 147 00:08:33.679 --> 00:08:36.600 Okay, let's loop around back real quick and talk about 148 00:08:36.600 --> 00:08:39.559 cane toads, shall we. Okay, great, So these are these 149 00:08:39.799 --> 00:08:43.840 huge toats. They're also called marine toads even though they're terrestrial, 150 00:08:44.080 --> 00:08:47.799 but the largest recorded one measured over nine inches long. 151 00:08:48.120 --> 00:08:51.080 They look like holding a big leathery pretzel roll, but 152 00:08:51.159 --> 00:08:56.440 with legs. They eat everything from like live bats, sometimes plants, 153 00:08:56.519 --> 00:09:01.200 to bugs, to dead animals to just right up garbage, 154 00:09:01.679 --> 00:09:06.159 sometimes just literal actual garbage. Another reason we love toads. 155 00:09:06.720 --> 00:09:11.200 They're not too picky. Can you ever have too many toads? Now? 156 00:09:11.240 --> 00:09:15.399 In some places, perhaps like those so called marine but 157 00:09:15.559 --> 00:09:21.000 actually terrestrial toads in Australia, the cane toads, why are 158 00:09:21.159 --> 00:09:22.399 they there? So? 159 00:09:22.399 --> 00:09:24.200 I think it's like where they were growing sugar cane, 160 00:09:24.279 --> 00:09:27.000 they had brought them there to control like the bugs, 161 00:09:27.080 --> 00:09:29.000 you know that were eating the sugar cane. And then 162 00:09:29.039 --> 00:09:31.440 of course, you know, anytime you bring a thing to 163 00:09:31.519 --> 00:09:34.039 control the thing that you don't want, then that thing goes, 164 00:09:34.240 --> 00:09:38.000 you know, crazy. So there are these big beefy marine toads, 165 00:09:38.120 --> 00:09:41.240 and so they can live. They can tolerate like saltwater environments, 166 00:09:41.559 --> 00:09:44.360 but they also apparently can live all over the place. 167 00:09:44.720 --> 00:09:48.159 Does Pria have a favorite toad? Yes, she has a 168 00:09:48.200 --> 00:09:51.159 soft spot. She has a soft warty spot for American 169 00:09:51.200 --> 00:09:54.080 toads because they were the first she saw in the Midwest. 170 00:09:54.320 --> 00:09:57.480 But she did clarify that they no longer belong to 171 00:09:57.519 --> 00:10:01.840 the Bufo genus. North American toads are now classified Anaxorus, 172 00:10:02.120 --> 00:10:04.919 which sounds like a very cool rebrand if you ask me. 173 00:10:05.000 --> 00:10:09.080 Bufo versus Naxorus reminds me of the time my gothfriend 174 00:10:09.120 --> 00:10:11.840 Ben wanted us to call him Sebastian with an E 175 00:10:12.039 --> 00:10:16.919 on the end, but unlike Anaxorus, it didn't stick. I'm sorry, Sebastian. 176 00:10:17.159 --> 00:10:19.360 They're a little bit fatter and their eyes are just 177 00:10:19.399 --> 00:10:23.039 a little bit more like bulbous, so I really kind 178 00:10:23.039 --> 00:10:24.600 of fell in love with them. But there's some really 179 00:10:24.639 --> 00:10:27.759 pretty toads too, Like in the southwestern US there are 180 00:10:27.799 --> 00:10:31.000 these green toads and then these red spotted toads, and 181 00:10:31.159 --> 00:10:34.159 especially in South America, like I haven't seen like all 182 00:10:34.240 --> 00:10:36.559 the buffon and species you know that are down there. 183 00:10:36.960 --> 00:10:39.240 I mean it would take you know, millions of years. 184 00:10:39.279 --> 00:10:41.159 There's so many species of toads all over the world, 185 00:10:41.200 --> 00:10:45.000 but they are really diverse and interesting. 186 00:10:45.759 --> 00:10:48.960 Ps how many species of toad are out there hop 187 00:10:48.960 --> 00:10:53.200 and around and frowning. It's over six hundred and some 188 00:10:53.600 --> 00:10:56.759 look like dead leaves with a face, and some are 189 00:10:56.840 --> 00:11:00.639 beautiful rainbow colors. Some we haven't even discs covered yet 190 00:11:00.960 --> 00:11:04.559 right now, just kicking it in a hollow, I think, 191 00:11:04.879 --> 00:11:07.240 is that where toads live? Do they live in toad hollows? 192 00:11:07.840 --> 00:11:10.320 Do they live in little like carbons spots and trees 193 00:11:10.320 --> 00:11:10.759 and stuff? 194 00:11:10.879 --> 00:11:14.440 Yeah, well, pretty much in burrows of different sorts. Some 195 00:11:14.519 --> 00:11:16.320 of them can do a little bit of digging, but 196 00:11:16.399 --> 00:11:18.279 a lot of times they'll live in other you know, 197 00:11:18.360 --> 00:11:19.879 mammal burrows and things like that. 198 00:11:20.320 --> 00:11:22.000 Do toads ever get chilly? 199 00:11:22.240 --> 00:11:25.240 They don't freeze like some frog species can totally freeze 200 00:11:25.279 --> 00:11:28.360 in the winter, like they produce this anti freeze, but 201 00:11:28.720 --> 00:11:31.279 toads don't do that. They just go underground, like below 202 00:11:31.360 --> 00:11:34.000 the frost line where it's just warm enough that they 203 00:11:34.000 --> 00:11:37.879 can survive through the winter and they hibernate. But they 204 00:11:37.879 --> 00:11:40.080 don't freeze, so they just live underground. 205 00:11:40.399 --> 00:11:45.279 Don't freeze. That's handy. Oh, speaking of hands, true or false? 206 00:11:45.840 --> 00:11:50.759 Toads have arms? Yes they do? Okay, thank you. I 207 00:11:50.799 --> 00:11:52.799 don't feel like toads have four legs. I feel like 208 00:11:52.799 --> 00:11:55.039 the two legs and two arms. They do. 209 00:11:55.200 --> 00:11:56.080 Toads have arms. 210 00:11:56.120 --> 00:11:58.360 They do have arms. I mean they're like little popeye 211 00:11:58.399 --> 00:12:01.000 arms right, Like couldn't you just seal tattoo on those 212 00:12:01.000 --> 00:12:04.440 little forearms? They're so fat and the males have fatter 213 00:12:04.519 --> 00:12:09.480 forearms on purpose, like to clutch. Yeah, they have arms. 214 00:12:09.360 --> 00:12:12.600 Okay, thank you, and tell you will see it like 215 00:12:12.600 --> 00:12:15.039 in different places and references about there at their. 216 00:12:15.039 --> 00:12:15.720 Arms in the couse. 217 00:12:15.840 --> 00:12:17.120 Really, so is that official? 218 00:12:17.919 --> 00:12:21.519 I'm gonna say it is so. 219 00:12:21.559 --> 00:12:23.840 Priya has done a lot of work with a lot 220 00:12:23.840 --> 00:12:28.080 of amphibians, namely salamanders, but her field work helping collect 221 00:12:28.240 --> 00:12:31.279 toad data made her love them even more. 222 00:12:31.320 --> 00:12:33.279 Just a little ways into the season, the toads would 223 00:12:33.279 --> 00:12:35.120 come in and they would just be everywhere, and they 224 00:12:35.120 --> 00:12:37.320 were just so fun to watch. The eggs were everywhere, 225 00:12:37.320 --> 00:12:39.639 and then the tadpoles would be everywhere. And there's probably 226 00:12:39.679 --> 00:12:41.440 at least a couple of sites where they probably was 227 00:12:41.679 --> 00:12:44.960 close to one hundred toad We definitely saw a lot 228 00:12:44.960 --> 00:12:47.240 of them, you know, just just out and about and 229 00:12:47.360 --> 00:12:48.240 just hopping along. 230 00:12:48.679 --> 00:12:51.399 Are they solitary or do they or did they burrow 231 00:12:51.440 --> 00:12:52.480 with friends? Do you think? 232 00:12:54.159 --> 00:12:55.919 I wonder if they have I don't think there are 233 00:12:56.039 --> 00:13:00.519 some records of them, like in sharing burrows with other toads, 234 00:13:00.600 --> 00:13:05.759 and we actually found a multiple species like Hybernaculum. But 235 00:13:05.799 --> 00:13:08.320 I do think that there are toads that will share 236 00:13:08.440 --> 00:13:10.480 the same types of burrows. And then there are some 237 00:13:10.559 --> 00:13:12.879 places like where the soil is really sandy and they 238 00:13:12.919 --> 00:13:15.399 can just kind of shimmy down under the sand, especially 239 00:13:15.399 --> 00:13:17.919 in the more hotter environments, because in a lot of 240 00:13:17.960 --> 00:13:21.039 places in the southern US, both east and west, they're 241 00:13:21.240 --> 00:13:24.720 active pretty much year round, or they don't really have 242 00:13:24.879 --> 00:13:27.200 much of a hibernation, but you know, in the northern 243 00:13:27.320 --> 00:13:30.639 areas they do they I don't know, yeah, they do, 244 00:13:31.639 --> 00:13:35.480 they do sleep. I've never seen a sleeping toad. Yeah, 245 00:13:35.519 --> 00:13:36.679 I haven't seen a sleeping tone. 246 00:13:36.759 --> 00:13:39.759 Are they nocturnal or are they out in the day. 247 00:13:40.639 --> 00:13:44.320 When they first come out, it's usually during the day, 248 00:13:44.480 --> 00:13:47.600 and they will just be singing their little hearts out 249 00:13:47.639 --> 00:13:50.320 like all during the day. Then they kind of shift 250 00:13:50.360 --> 00:13:51.919 to just calling at night, and so you don't really 251 00:13:51.919 --> 00:13:53.320 hear them during the day, but you'll see them out 252 00:13:53.360 --> 00:13:56.120 there sometimes. We definitely, like when we go out in 253 00:13:56.159 --> 00:13:58.840 the field to our sites during the daytime, we would 254 00:13:58.840 --> 00:14:01.399 see the toads just everywhere, and they weren't always calling 255 00:14:01.600 --> 00:14:03.759 by that point. But then if you came to the 256 00:14:03.759 --> 00:14:05.639 same pond that night, you know, they would just be 257 00:14:05.799 --> 00:14:08.799 singing like crazy. Yeah, and so it's cool. 258 00:14:09.159 --> 00:14:22.159 Oh, listen to these beautiful sounds, so relaxing and soothing. 259 00:14:22.679 --> 00:14:27.720 Now let's hear something both cute and horrifying. Toads oozing 260 00:14:27.879 --> 00:14:31.559 out of your skin, well their mom's skin. Okay. Is 261 00:14:31.600 --> 00:14:35.080 there a type of toad where the baby toads are 262 00:14:35.120 --> 00:14:37.759 berthed from holes in the back or was that an 263 00:14:37.759 --> 00:14:38.799 American horror story? 264 00:14:39.039 --> 00:14:42.559 No, no, those are those are a different family. So 265 00:14:42.559 --> 00:14:44.559 they're not bufon ands, they're not true toads, but they 266 00:14:44.600 --> 00:14:48.080 are called like the Surinam toad. And yeah, that oh man, 267 00:14:48.120 --> 00:14:51.600 that's like the craziest like reproductive strategy. They'll lay the 268 00:14:51.679 --> 00:14:54.360 eggs and they'll be fertilized, and then they like scoop 269 00:14:54.399 --> 00:14:56.360 them up with their legs onto their back, and then 270 00:14:56.360 --> 00:14:59.279 their back like the chemistry of the skin changes and 271 00:14:59.320 --> 00:15:01.879 it basically like absorbs the eggs into their back, and 272 00:15:01.879 --> 00:15:03.799 then the skin grows over the back, over the top 273 00:15:03.840 --> 00:15:04.200 of it. 274 00:15:04.279 --> 00:15:06.159 And then when they. 275 00:15:06.000 --> 00:15:08.440 Get ready to hatch, they hatch out as like little 276 00:15:08.440 --> 00:15:11.519 live it's not even tadpoles, it's like little live baby toads, 277 00:15:11.559 --> 00:15:14.080 and they just start cracking out of the mom's back. 278 00:15:14.320 --> 00:15:16.480 What is the state of the toad these days? How 279 00:15:16.519 --> 00:15:17.120 are toads? 280 00:15:17.320 --> 00:15:18.080 Do they need us? 281 00:15:18.240 --> 00:15:20.559 Do they hate us? Now? I know that cane toads 282 00:15:20.559 --> 00:15:23.639 are having a heyday, right, yeah, it's the it is 283 00:15:23.679 --> 00:15:26.399 the era of the cane toad. But how in general 284 00:15:26.440 --> 00:15:28.200 are toads faring these days? 285 00:15:28.440 --> 00:15:33.200 It depends. So some of the species of toads have 286 00:15:33.279 --> 00:15:36.840 been hit pretty hard by the kittrid fungus, the amphibian 287 00:15:36.919 --> 00:15:39.799 kytrid fungus patraka Kytrium dender badatus. 288 00:15:39.600 --> 00:15:42.000 That's quite a mouthful, or BD for short. 289 00:15:42.399 --> 00:15:47.320 In Central America especially, there's a couple of the Adylopus 290 00:15:47.399 --> 00:15:51.279 genus species that have that are thought to be extinct. 291 00:15:51.320 --> 00:15:54.440 Now there's a golden toad that's in the Inscillus genus 292 00:15:54.799 --> 00:15:57.600 from Costa Rica, that is, it was like their iconic 293 00:15:58.039 --> 00:16:03.039 toad species, and they think that that's extinct. I think 294 00:16:03.039 --> 00:16:05.919 there's they've found like maybe a couple of individuals here 295 00:16:05.960 --> 00:16:07.919 and there of all of these different species. But yeah, 296 00:16:07.919 --> 00:16:10.399 but they're they've gone extinct. It's because of this fungus, 297 00:16:10.440 --> 00:16:12.879 this fungal pathogen. So have you heard of like white 298 00:16:12.919 --> 00:16:16.919 nose and bats. So this actually came before and then 299 00:16:17.000 --> 00:16:19.559 like the people in the white nose world like learned 300 00:16:19.600 --> 00:16:23.519 from that, but it took the BD world, the amphibian world, 301 00:16:23.559 --> 00:16:25.320 like a really long time to figure out that it 302 00:16:25.360 --> 00:16:27.639 was this fungal pathogen. It was described as a new 303 00:16:27.679 --> 00:16:30.200 species once they figured out that that's what it was. 304 00:16:30.240 --> 00:16:33.879 But it's been responsible for h Well, it's questionable, but 305 00:16:33.879 --> 00:16:36.399 there's there's a recent paper that says that there's like 306 00:16:36.399 --> 00:16:39.799 five hundred species that have declined throughout the world on 307 00:16:40.000 --> 00:16:43.480 that because of BD. But there's some question about that 308 00:16:43.559 --> 00:16:45.559 a little bit. So at least most people say like 309 00:16:45.600 --> 00:16:48.720 around like two hundred or so species that have declined 310 00:16:49.720 --> 00:16:53.799 or gone extinct specifically because of the impacts of of BD, 311 00:16:54.320 --> 00:16:57.240 and in the US in particular, some of our toad 312 00:16:57.279 --> 00:16:59.639 species have been the ones that have been most impacted. 313 00:16:59.759 --> 00:17:01.600 What are the predators of toads? 314 00:17:02.080 --> 00:17:07.079 Oh, there are various birds and snakes that will eat toads. 315 00:17:08.359 --> 00:17:13.400 Hogno snakes are kind of toads specialists. The toxin doesn't 316 00:17:13.559 --> 00:17:16.799 seem to bother them, so they're able to manage with them. 317 00:17:16.839 --> 00:17:20.119 But crows, which are super smart as you know, will 318 00:17:20.480 --> 00:17:24.359 like eviscerate toads and then just eat their guy insides. 319 00:17:24.920 --> 00:17:27.759 Gosh, yeah, that's what I do with airport sandwiches. I 320 00:17:28.079 --> 00:17:31.000 just eat the middle. But before I ask the questions 321 00:17:31.039 --> 00:17:33.880 that you submitted, patrons, a few sponsors of the show 322 00:17:33.920 --> 00:17:36.319 who make it possible for us to make a donation 323 00:17:36.559 --> 00:17:39.400 each week to a cause of the ologist choosing. In 324 00:17:39.440 --> 00:17:41.920 this week, Prea requested a donation be made to the 325 00:17:41.960 --> 00:17:46.319 Amphibian and Reptile Conservancy to support inclusivity and diversity in 326 00:17:46.480 --> 00:17:51.720 amphibian and reptile conservations. So thank you, Pria. Okay, sponsors, 327 00:17:52.960 --> 00:17:56.680 all right, we're back your questions, Okay. Jack kelliher asks 328 00:17:56.839 --> 00:17:59.640 life cycle of a toad same as similar to a 329 00:17:59.680 --> 00:18:01.839 frog or do they live longer or shorter than a frog? 330 00:18:01.880 --> 00:18:02.240 Do you think? 331 00:18:02.480 --> 00:18:07.039 Oh, well, I think it depends on the species. And 332 00:18:07.079 --> 00:18:09.480 you know, some frogs live pretty long. Some some toads 333 00:18:09.480 --> 00:18:11.279 live pretty long. But but you know, kind of on 334 00:18:11.359 --> 00:18:13.920 average in that sort of five ish seven ish, you know, 335 00:18:14.079 --> 00:18:17.519 tennish range of years. But life cycle, yeah, very fairly 336 00:18:17.559 --> 00:18:19.880 similar to a frog, because you know, they are frogs. 337 00:18:19.960 --> 00:18:20.640 They are frog. 338 00:18:21.119 --> 00:18:21.440 Yeah. 339 00:18:21.440 --> 00:18:26.480 So they will like mostly be on land until it's 340 00:18:26.480 --> 00:18:29.240 breeding season, you know, or like be hibernating or whatever, 341 00:18:29.279 --> 00:18:32.160 and then they'll come to the ponds for that breeding season. 342 00:18:32.200 --> 00:18:37.519 They'll call attract their mate. There are some toads that 343 00:18:37.680 --> 00:18:40.720 don't call and they're oh my god, I can't. There 344 00:18:40.720 --> 00:18:43.240 are some toads that will do that leg waving thing. 345 00:18:43.319 --> 00:18:43.480 You know. 346 00:18:43.519 --> 00:18:45.000 Have you ever seen that? Oh my god, you have to. 347 00:18:45.079 --> 00:18:45.279 Yeah. 348 00:18:45.319 --> 00:18:48.680 So they like in these like stream environments where it's 349 00:18:48.680 --> 00:18:51.599 so loud because of all this stream noise, they have 350 00:18:51.680 --> 00:18:54.559 evolved this like they just they literally take their back 351 00:18:54.640 --> 00:18:57.119 leg and they just like go like this. 352 00:18:57.960 --> 00:19:01.039 By the way, is laying on the hotel room doing 353 00:19:01.079 --> 00:19:04.440 a move that looks like part synchronized swimming, but also 354 00:19:04.559 --> 00:19:06.160 part shipwreck victim. 355 00:19:07.400 --> 00:19:08.720 And I think in some of them it's their front 356 00:19:08.759 --> 00:19:11.559 leg maybe too, but they anyway, or their arms. Yeah, 357 00:19:11.640 --> 00:19:15.359 and they they just like they're like, hey, I'm. 358 00:19:15.160 --> 00:19:18.960 Over here, god like hailing a cab. 359 00:19:19.279 --> 00:19:23.640 Yes, And then some you know, chick toad is walking 360 00:19:23.680 --> 00:19:26.799 by and just like, oh, oh okay, I see I 361 00:19:26.880 --> 00:19:29.000 never know that they did that. Yeah, so there are 362 00:19:29.039 --> 00:19:31.480 so anyways. I kind of digress there. But yeah, so 363 00:19:31.680 --> 00:19:35.440 generally speaking, they attract their mate. The mate, you know, 364 00:19:35.559 --> 00:19:40.440 the female comes over and they you know, they lay 365 00:19:40.480 --> 00:19:44.200 their eggs, and mostly most of the species like lay 366 00:19:44.240 --> 00:19:46.680 a lot of eggs. Maybe you'll have a pretty decent 367 00:19:46.720 --> 00:19:48.599 amount of the eggs that will hatchet to tadpoles. But 368 00:19:48.599 --> 00:19:50.880 then like the tadpoles are food for all sorts of stuff. 369 00:19:50.960 --> 00:19:53.400 Oh delicious, Oh my god. Have you ever seen like 370 00:19:53.440 --> 00:19:54.799 all the little toadlets popping on them? 371 00:19:54.920 --> 00:19:56.160 They really called toadlets? 372 00:19:56.400 --> 00:19:58.599 Yes, oh good, toadlets. 373 00:19:59.119 --> 00:20:02.799 Heather all bricks. What are toad communities? Like? I always 374 00:20:02.799 --> 00:20:05.440 see toads on the ground blazing their own trails, but 375 00:20:05.480 --> 00:20:08.640 then there's always another little guy not too far away. 376 00:20:09.079 --> 00:20:11.000 Do they reconvene at the end of the day in 377 00:20:11.079 --> 00:20:14.519 communal housing, if they survived my lawnmower, or do they 378 00:20:14.599 --> 00:20:17.519 battle it out for prime resources? Do they have friends? 379 00:20:17.559 --> 00:20:20.279 Do you think they all come together for the breeding season, 380 00:20:20.839 --> 00:20:23.240 but they're not really like friendly, you know, they're like 381 00:20:23.279 --> 00:20:26.079 all competing during that time. And it is true that 382 00:20:26.079 --> 00:20:28.119 you do tend to see them together, and I think 383 00:20:28.119 --> 00:20:31.039 that is probably because they must like hang out together 384 00:20:31.559 --> 00:20:35.720 wherever they're overwintering or hanging out during the hot months 385 00:20:35.799 --> 00:20:36.200 or something. 386 00:20:36.720 --> 00:20:39.359 Laura Kenney wants to know. Do toads travel far from 387 00:20:39.400 --> 00:20:42.640 their borough or where whatever a toad home is called 388 00:20:43.000 --> 00:20:45.920 to forage or find a mate? How is their commute? 389 00:20:45.920 --> 00:20:46.960 What's a toad commute? 390 00:20:47.000 --> 00:20:50.039 Like? You know, I think generally speaking they're thought to 391 00:20:50.119 --> 00:20:54.559 be not that they don't move that far, but there 392 00:20:54.720 --> 00:21:00.200 was recently one of my colleagues in Utah was tracking 393 00:21:00.240 --> 00:21:03.640 these western toads and found that they moved like five 394 00:21:03.720 --> 00:21:06.880 or six miles, which you know a toad that hops 395 00:21:06.920 --> 00:21:10.359 like that's a long way, like between where their breeding 396 00:21:10.400 --> 00:21:12.799 site was and where they I think were hanging out 397 00:21:12.839 --> 00:21:14.359 like in the winter, because they'll go back to the 398 00:21:14.400 --> 00:21:17.680 same ponds where they emerged to go breed, and so 399 00:21:19.279 --> 00:21:24.759 when those habitats got fewer and far farther between, Like 400 00:21:24.880 --> 00:21:27.000 if they went back in their pond that they know 401 00:21:27.440 --> 00:21:29.079