All toads are poisonous, but their poison is very peculiar (8 photos)

Here's a sudden fact: all the toads on the planet are passively poisonous animals. This means that amphibians cannot consciously poison anyone, but the mucus covering their bodies not only protects the skin from drying out, but is also generously flavored with toxins.





Sudden educational program: the term “toad” has two definitions. On the one hand, toads are all frogs that have forgotten how to jump and live far from bodies of water. On the other hand, only representatives of the family of true toads. In the photo there is a red-bellied toad, it is from the first category of toads.



What did the toad forget at your dacha? Here she can burrow into loose soil, bask under raspberry bushes, eat insects and not be afraid of her natural enemies!

Poisonous protection for amphibians is not a whim, but an urgent necessity. Toads are mediocre fighters even in their weight class. They are slow, exhaust quickly, and their fighting skills are highly dependent on the ambient temperature. Therefore, animals rely more on camouflage, intimidation and poisons.





This is what a toad looks like in a threatening pose.



Common toad.



Green toad.

All of the above amphibians actively secrete bufotoxin, a poison that causes convulsions, increased heart rate and even ventricular fibrillation of the heart, which can lead to death. True, if you are the size of a weasel or a young ferret. The concentration of the poison is too low to harm humans. But if you have a bad cat or a dog with a heart condition, they can be seriously harmed when trying to eat a toad.



Now in the spring you can often see the following picture: One or even several males are sitting on larger female toads. The thing is that now they are in the breeding season, and amphibians reproduce externally. The males sit on the female's back in order to be the first to fertilize the eggs that the female lays.

In our strip there are two more amphibians that look like toads, but are not them. The first of them is spadefoot. They say on the Internet that it is much more dangerous than real toads. Like, just the smell of it causes a cough and a sore throat. And if the poison gets on the skin, then the person will suffer from pain for a long time. This is wrong. The skin mucus of the spadefoot is poisonous, but the concentration of toxins is so low that they can only kill insects.



And in Ryazan we have potatoes with eyes... (Garlic)

But the mucus of the red-bellied toad can cause a strong burning sensation. True, for this it needs to get on your mucous membrane. Then the bactericidal enzymes on her skin will begin to actively dissolve the tissue and cause several unpleasant minutes. But it's not dangerous. Although the toad looks like a toad, it is not one. She also does not know how to synthesize poison. You can eat it calmly. If you are willing to endure the burning sensation in your mouth, of course.



The fire toad may not be the most dangerous, but it is definitely the most beautiful amphibian on this list!