AmphibiaChina 中国两栖类.

Description
This small toad ranges from 40-89 mm snout-vent length. The parotoid glands behind the eyes are prominent. The pupil of the eye is horizontal. The tympanic membrane is not visible. Males have a guttural resonator and can be identified by stretched-looking skin on their throats. The internal edge of the tarsus contains a longitudinal skin fold. Toes have singular subarticular tubercles. The tip of the 4th finger does not reach the 1st articulation of the 3rd finger. The dorsal skin is light-olive, greenish-gray or gray with large dark spots and light narrow middorsal line, sometimes with a few red points. The belly is light-gray with few dark spots. Males differ from females by having a guttural resonator (or stretched skin on the neck, used for storing air when calling). The males also have nuptial pads on the 1st finger, a smaller body size, and smaller body proportions.

Distribution and Habitat

Country distribution from AmphibiaWeb's database: China, Korea, Democratic People's Republic of, Mongolia, Russian Federation

	View distribution map in BerkeleyMapper.
	View Bd and Bsal data (27 records).

The species is widespread in China (Jiangsu, Anhui, Qinghai, Gansu, Shaanxi, Shanxi, Henan, Shandong, Hebei, Liaoning, Jilin and Heilongjiang provinces, as well as Inner Mongolia, Ninxia-Hui and Xinjiang-Uigur autonomous regions), Mongolia, Korea and Russian East Siberia (Baikal Lake area: Buryatia, Chita Province and Irjutsk Province - Goloustnaya River delta, Maloe More Bay and Olkhon Island at about 53oN, 107o30'E - the northernmost locality; the Far East: the Amur and Ussuri Rivers and their tributaries).

Bufo raddei inhabits the edges of coniferous and deciduous forests, groves, bushlands, different types of meadows, forest steppes and steppes with sandy, rocky and alluvial soils. The species is abundant in many settlements, some cities and in agricultural landscapes. It occurs both in wet and in dry habitats. Even in the steppe zone, it can occur not only near water bodies (rivers, ponds, lakes etc.), but at a considerable distance from water. However, in dry and continental desert areas the toad is tied to lakes and other permanent water sources. Such populations often are isolated from other populations by vast areas unavailable for amphibians. Spawning occurs in lakes and ponds with stagnant water.

Life History, Abundance, Activity, and Special Behaviors
In some suitable habitats the Mongolian Toad is a common amphibian. In Amurland, its population density reaches 400 specimens per square kilometer. The daily activity pattern is similar to that of other green toads, with diurnal activity on warm sunny days. Hibernation occurs from approximately September - October to April - May, on land. At the northern margin the toad spends winter in very deep, to 1-2 m holes. Group hibernation is typical. Reproduction occurs from March to July, depending on the geographic location. Amplexus is pectoral. The clutch contains 1070-6000 eggs, deposited in two strings of 3-6 m length. Just after hatching, the tadpoles hang on the strings of spawn for a short time. Afterwards they concentrate near the pond shore forming aggregations near the bottom.

Metamorphosis occurs in June - August. Reproduction in shallow waters leads to high tadpole mortality in the drying wetlands. Otherwise, in some cases, tadpoles overwinter and complete their transformation the following summer.

Tadpoles eat mainly algae and detritus. Recently metamorphosed juveniles mainly eat mites and small insects, particularly Collembola. Adults prey upon spiders, caterpillars, beetles (Carabidae, Curculionidae, Tenebrionidae etc.) and, especially, ants. The latter represent an especially important component in dry habitats.

Trends and Threats
The abundance is generally lower in semidesert and desert regions, where isolated small populations live in oasises. In the Far East, the overall abundance decreases northwards.

Relation to Humans
Negative influences of anthropogenic factors are poorly known. The species does not avoid human neighborhoods and readily settles in agricultural fields, villages, settlements and even cities.

Comments
This species belongs to the group of green toads (the Bufo viridis complex).

Read more about The Amphibians of Mongolia by Kuzman 2017 (PDF).

References

Bannikov, A. G., Darevsky, I. S. and Rustamov, A. K. (1971). Zemnovodnye i Presmykayushchienya SSSR [Amphibians and Reptiles of the USSR]. Izdatelistvo Misl, Moscow.

Bannikov, A. G., Darevsky, I. S., Ishchenko, V. G., Rustamov, A. K., and Szczerbak, N. N. (1977). Opredelitel Zemnovodnykh i Presmykayushchikhsya Fauny SSSR [Guide to Amphibians and Reptiles of the USSR Fauna]. Prosveshchenie, Moscow.

Fei, L. (1999). Atlas of Amphibians of China. Henan Publishing House of Science and Technology, Zhengzhou.

Kuzmin, S. L. (1995). Die Amphibien Russlands und angrenzender Gebiete. Westarp Wissenschaften, Magdeburg.

Kuzmin, S. L. (1999). The Amphibians of the Former Soviet Union. Pensoft, Sofia-Moscow.

Nikolsky, A. M (1936). Fauna of Russia and Adjacent Countries: Amphibians (English translation of Nikolsky, 1918, Faune de la Russie et des Pays limitrophes. Amphibiens. Académie Russe des Sciences, Petrograd, USSR). Israel Program for Scientific Translations, Jerusalem.

Stejneger, L. H. (1907). Herpetology of Japan and Adjacent Territory, United States National Museum Bulletin 58. Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D. C..

Terent'ev, P. V. and Chernov, S. A (1965). Key to Amphibians and Reptiles [of the USSR]. Israel Program for Scientific Translations, Jerusalem.

Vorobyeva, E. I. and Darevsky, I. S. (eds.) (1988). Amphibians and Reptiles of Mongolian People's Republic: General Problems. Amphibians.. Moscow.

Won, H.-K. (1971). Choson Ryangso Pyachyungryuchji [Amphibian and Reptilian Fauna of Korea]. Korean Academy of Sciences, Pyongyang.

Ye, C., Fei, L., and Hu, S. Q. (1993). Rare and Economic Amphibians of China. Sichuan Publishing House of Science and Technology, Chengdu.

Zhao, E. and Adler, K. (1993). Herpetology of China. Society for the Study of Amphibians and Reptiles, Oxford, Ohio.

Zhao, E. and Zhao, H. (1994). Chinese Herpetological Literature: Catalogue and Indices. Chengdu University of Science and Technology, Chengdu.

Species Account Citation: AmphibiaWeb 2017 Strauchbufo raddei: Mongolian Toad <https://amphibiaweb.org/species/265> University of California, Berkeley, CA, USA. Accessed Jan 24, 2025.

Citation: AmphibiaWeb. 2025. <https://amphibiaweb.org> University of California, Berkeley, CA, USA. Accessed 24 Jan 2025.

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