Midwife Toad of Hillenius

About the Midwife Toad of Hillenius

The Betic midwife toad or Sapo Partero Bético (Alytes dickhilleni) is a species of frog in the family Alytidae (formerly Discoglossidae). It is endemic to mountains in south eastern Spain. Its natural habitats are temperate forests, freshwater marshes, intermittent freshwater marshes, pastureland, ponds, and aquaculture ponds. It is threatened by habitat loss.

The Betic midwife toad is grey, finely mottled with dark and pale specks. Its length may be about 3.5 centimetres (1.4 in) and it has bulging eyes with vertical slit pupils. There is a distinctive grey area between the eyes and the parotoid glands are relatively small. There is a lateral line of whitish glandular tubercles on the body but an absence of the orange glandular spots found in other members of the genus.

The Betic midwife toad is native to the Sierra Nevada Mountains in south eastern Spain. The population is fragmented as different mountains support separate populations. It is fairly common on Alcaraz, Segura and Cazorla mountains but less common on the drier Filabres, Baza and Gádor peaks. It is generally found in oak and pine forests and in open rocky areas, mostly... Wikipedia →