5.12.2005

Who Are You?

Sometimes, it can be a challenge to identify a toad to species. This ornate individual has us scratching our heads at the moment. He has some characteristics of an American Toad, some of a Southern Toad and some of a Fowler's Toad. It is a young toad and that tends to make things even more difficult.

Oh well, whether we know what species it is or not, I can still appreciate it for its beauty.


11 comments:

Mr. Bloggerific Himself said...

He's all bellied-up-to-the-bar to order another Pond Juice Spritzer.

Cuppa said...

You blog continues to be a refreshing highlight in my busy confusing days.

Ahhhh, looking at your photos is like enjoying a breath of fresh air after being locked up in a stuffy room.

I have one very important question. How do you get these toads, frogs, lizzards, snakes, birds, to pose for you????

swamp4me said...

Ah, Cuppa, if only they would pose...in reality, I spend a lot of time in really awkward positions trying to get decent angles on subjects that have no interest in having their pictures taken!
You would be able to pick me out in a crowd, I'm the one with mud on my knees and sticks in my hair :-)

Mr. Bloggerific Himself said...

Shall we ask Pete Townsend?

Jenn said...

So. Does anybody know how long toads live?

I know you tell a young one by the size... do they just keep growing?

The camp I went to as a kid was on a lake, and every year the toad hatch would pour in wave of teeny-tine toadlets up the slope from the shore and into the woods...

swamp4me said...

Jenn, most toads never make it out of the tadpole stage and if they do then most live only a year or two -- that's why the ones that do make it have to lay so very many eggs! American toads become sexually mature at 2 to 3 years of age. They have been known to live 10+ years in the wild and even longer in captivity.
As a child, my husband knew one toad that lived in his backyard for well over six years. He knows for sure that it was the same toad because the first time he saw it was when he hit it with the lawnmower and accidentally cut one of its legs off. He nursed it back to health and let it go. He continued to see it every year until he left home to go to college.

Anonymous said...

he's a prince and i want to kiss him.


SQMojo

Anonymous said...

er, i mean the toad.

Crystal* said...

"Yea, as I sit here and ponder the meaning of life. My cute little fingers wrapped 'round the branch. Looking out upon my kingdom."

He's just sweet, Swampy.
Grins*

swamp4me said...

SQ, glad you clarified that :)
But just so you know, my husband is a prince, too.

Dee said...

very pretty markings.