Alyte accoucheur (F); Vroedmeesterpad (NL); Barnmorskegroda (S); Fødselshjælperfrø (DK); ----- (CZ)

Distribution: Iberian Peninsula, France, Benelux, Switzerland, and Germany without the northern and eastern parts. Hilly regions and mountains up to 2400 m (Pyrenees).

Size: about 3,5-5,5 cm

Pupil: vertical;

Mating:
End of March to early August.
The breeding behaviour is very interesting. Calling and mating is terrestrial. The male winds the egg strings around its hind limbs and carries them around till hatching after 3-6 weeks. That is why it is called Midwife toad. Favourite spawning sites are water bodies of different sizes in quarries and other secondary habitats.

Call:

This small inconspicuous anuran has a very distinctive call: in a chorus sounding like crystal chiming bells.

 

Midwife toad
Alytes obstetricans
Midwife toad

Adult Midwife toad,
Male with spawn around hind limbs
XXL slide

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