The Western Toad is a “true toad” as it belongs to the family Bufonidae. These toads are characterized by their dry, warty skin, short legs, and parotoid glands behind their eyes, which secrete a mild toxin as a defense mechanism. They live in forests and then migrate yearly to breed in areas of shallow open water such as wetlands. Females lay up to 12,000 eggs at once and, once old enough, tens of thousands of juveniles (or ‘toadlets’) leave the breeding site en mass. On land, toads are opportunistic predators that feed on a range of worms, insects and spiders, while the tadpoles are herbivores that feed on plants and algae.
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Tadpoles
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This is a species at risk. To find its current at-risk designation and listing info, visit the BC Species and Ecosystems Explorer. For direction on finding additional species recovery information, visit the Species and Ecological Communities Profiles Overview webpage.
Resources
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BC Species and Ecosystems Explorer
Provincial site providing current information for BC’s plants, animals and...
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Develop with Care – Western Toad Fact Sheet
Western Toad Fact Sheet, as part of the Province of...
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Western Toad Species Profile
SCCP’s Species Profile of the Western Toad (2015).
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Aquatic Amphibian Eggs of BC’s South Coast
Identification Guide of Aquatic Amphibian Eggs of BC's South Coast...
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