| Scientific Name: |
Bombina orientalis |
| Range: |
Northeastern China, Korea, southern Japan, and southern
parts of Russia |
| Habitat: |
Shallow waters in ponds and slow-moving streams |
| Natural Diet: |
Insects, arthropods, earthworms, and mollusks |
| Zoo Diet: |
Arthropods and earthworms |
Physical
Characteristics: |
Fire-bellied toads can grow up to three inches in
length. They have a gray-black upper side and brightly colored
underside, usually red or yellow. They have a non-projectile,
disk-shaped tongue. |
| Behavior: |
Fire-bellied toads assume a “canoe” position with their
backs arched and arms and legs thrown up when disturbed or frightened.
The skin secretes a milky substance from poison glands; this irritates
the mouth and eyes of an attacker. |
| Reproduction: |
Fire-bellied toads mate between April and August. Small
clumps of 2-8 eggs are laid beneath stones. Young hatch as tadpoles. |
| Notes: |
Fire-bellied toads hibernate from late September to
May. They find shelter in rotting logs, leaf piles, and sometimes at the
bottom of streams. |
