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Fire bellied toad in Scotland?: |
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BornSlippy Member Joined: 10 Jan 2010 No. of posts: 2  View other posts by BornSlippy |
Posted: 10 Jan 2010 Hi there im new to the forum. I've always been a bit of an amature nature spotter and my local disused quarry is an absolute haven for wildlife. It contains large numbers of both common toads and frogs and at least 1 newt species (palmate I think) as well as a nesting pair of ravens and peregrine falcons. I only wish common lizards were present as it looks perfect habitat for them. However this summer I found a dead fire bellied toad (or related species) it was a juvenile and was greenish brown on top with orange and black mottling to its underside. I'm guessing this must have been an escaped or more likely dumped pet as the quarry is not really that close to built up areas. It looked like it was maybe killed by something as it had some damage to its side and one of its back legs was partially missing though it hadnt been dead for long. After doing a bit of reading here it seems they do exist wild down south but would their be a possibility of them managing to survive Scotlands lower average temps(probably not not now after this years winter so far). Also does anyone know of good places to spot common lizards or slow worms near Glasgow? I've only ever seen Scottish reptiles around Loch Lomond. Thanks :) |
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herpetologic2 Senior Member Joined: 15 Jun 2004 No. of posts: 1369  View other posts by herpetologic2 |
Posted: 10 Jan 2010 Hi there I am sure you would find the local ARG's helpful - www.arguk.org Do you have any photos of the toad? J Vice Chair of ARG UK - self employed consultant - visit ARG UK & Alresford Wildlife |
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Caleb Forum Coordinator Joined: 17 Feb 2003 No. of posts: 448  View other posts by Caleb |
Posted: 11 Jan 2010 [QUOTE=BornSlippy] would their be a possibility of them managing to survive Scotlands lower average temps(probably not not now after this years winter so far). [/QUOTE] I don't think they'd have a problem with Scottish winters- all Bombina species occur in continental climates, which can have extremely cold winters. Are you sure it wasn't an unusually marked common toad? Young ones can have quite bright bellies; here's an example: 
Firebellied and yellow-bellied toads never have warty bellies. |
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BornSlippy Member Joined: 10 Jan 2010 No. of posts: 2 View other posts by BornSlippy |
Posted: 11 Jan 2010 Hi guys. Sorry I did have photos but lost them after stupidly dropping my external HD :( I'm 99% sure it wasnt a common toad as it was very green on top (thats what drew me to it as I thought it was a pool frog at first) and defo had very bright orange underneath. Thanks for the info I'll keep an eye out for any more this year though our winter so far has been the worst for decades and I think would spell doom for even the hardiest alien. |
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will j Member Joined: 06 Aug 2005 No. of posts: 18 View other posts by will j |
Posted: 26 Jan 2010 sounds like and Oriental Fire-bellied Toad Bombina orientalis they are common in captivity. did it look like this? http://images.google.co.uk/images?hl=en&source=hp&q= fire+belly+toad&gbv=2&aq=0&oq=fire+be the green on the back can be quite variable from all bright green, to olive-brown or patchy combination of greens and browns as well as the black spotting. Birder from Shropshire, adrift in Cornwall! |
- Fire bellied toad in Scotland? |