European fire-bellied toad

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European fire-bellied toad
Bombina bombina 1 (Marek Szczepanek).jpg
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Amphibia
Order: Anura
Family: Bombinatoridae
Genus: Bombina
Species:
B. bombina
Binomial name
Bombina bombina
(Linnaeus, 1758)
Distribution map of Bombina bombina.png
Synonyms
List
  • Rana bombina(Linnaeus, 1758)
  • Buffo ignicolor(Lacépède, 1788)
  • Bufo bombinus(Latreille in Sonnini de Manoncourt and Latreille, 1801)
  • Rana ignea(Shaw, 1802)
  • Bufo pluvialis(Daudin, 1802)
  • Rana cruenta(Pallas, 1814)
  • Bombinator igneus(Merrem, 1820)
  • Bombina ignea(Sturm, 1828)
  • Bufo (Bombinator) bombina(Cuvier, 1829)
  • Bombitator bombinus(Wagler, 1830)
  • Bufo cruentus(Dvigubsky, 1832)
  • Bufo bombinus(Schinz, 1833)
  • Bufo bombina(Schinz, 1837)
  • Bombinator igneus(Boulenger, 1882)
  • Bombinator bombina(Bedriaga, 1890)
  • Bombinator variegatus bombina(Prazák, 1898)
  • Bombina bombina(Stejneger, 1907)
  • Bombina (Bombina) bombina(Tian and Hu, 1985)

The European fire-bellied toad (Bombina bombina) is a species of fire-bellied toad native to eastern parts of mainland Europe, where it can be found near waterbodies such as ponds and marshes. [2] [3] It is known for its red colored belly used to ward off predators, an example of aposematism, and its distinctive "whoop" call. [4] [5]

Contents

Description

The European fire-bellied toad is a medium sized frog, growing up to approximately 5.6 centimetres (2+3⁄16 in). [4] The dorsal coloration can vary from gray to brown to green, while the stomach is red with thick black mottling. The backs of these frogs are covered in warts.

When threatened by a predator, the fire-bellied toad will lift up its arms (sometimes flipping over) to expose its red coloration and show off its toxicity to the potential predator. This is known as Unkenreflex, and is an example of aposematism.

European fire-bellied toad lifting its arms and legs as a defense mechanism Bombina bombina 3.jpg
European fire-bellied toad lifting its arms and legs as a defense mechanism

Distribution

The European fire-bellied toad is found throughout Central and Eastern Europe. [3] More particularly, its range starts in eastern Germany (including eastern Denmark and parts of southern Sweden), and then east to the Volga District of Russia where they are stopped by the Ural Mountains. [4] The frog's most southern range is Bulgaria and the Marmara Region of Turkey. [6] [7] [8]

There is an introduced population of European fire-bellied toads in Lorraine, France, over 500 kilometres (310 mi) away from their natural range in eastern Germany. [9] This population was first discovered in 2009 in Moselle but has since been found in several other nearby locations up to 30 kilometres (19 mi) away, which suggests they were moved by humans intentionally. They can potentially impact the local yellow-bellied toads through hybridization.

While they are listed as "Least Concern" by the IUCN, this frog has been suffering some losses throughout its range. For example, 15 known breeding populations of these frogs were identified in Denmark in 1974, but by 1988 only 8 of those populations remained. [10] In the Puszcza Romincka Landscape Park in Poland, the fire-bellied toad was described as uncommon, [11] rare in the Coastal Landscape Park, [12] and in an amphibian survey in Warsaw the fire-bellied toad only made up 9% of the observed species. [13] However, in some areas they are recovering through human intervention, such as in Funen County, Denmark, where dozens of ponds were dug for the frogs to live and breed in, increasing their population approximately five-fold in a decade. [14]

Ecology

This frog generally prefers to live in lowland areas such as ponds and marshes without too much woody vegetation. [11] In larger lakes these frogs will stay on the edges (50 to 70 centimetres (20 to 28 in) deep) in reed beds and floodplains. [9] They feed on all sorts of small invertebrates, in particular springtails, beetles, flies, and ants. [15] [16] In return, the frogs are preyed on by many other animals such as snakes and birds, [17] while tadpoles are eaten by leeches and fish. [18]

They will typically hibernate once temperatures dip down to 4 °C (39 °F), during which they burrow into soil or a rotting log and remain in a state of torpor until spring. [4] Breeding commences once temperatures reach 16 °C (61 °F) [19] and is usually done at night time or early morning, where females will deposit up to 15 to 40 eggs depending on their size. [18] [20] Tadpoles are born in about a week and develop for approximately a month before metamorphosing at a size of about 3.8 centimetres (1+1⁄2 in)). [18]

Evolution

The European fire-bellied toad (B. bombina) and yellow-bellied toad ( B. variegata ) are the product of clinal speciation. [21] They emerged from an ancient divergence event, however they continue to hybridise where they overlap geographically. [21] Yanchukov et al. 2006's survey of these species aids understanding of clinal speciation itself: Because different subpopulations carry different combinations of the reproductive isolation mechanisms, and because they combine data from a new transect with four preceding transects, their comparison and reanalysis of this speciation process helps to understand the contribution of single-nucleotide polymorphisms to clinal speciation. [21] Clinal speciation is a challenging dynamic to study and so Yanchukov is one of the few to provide insight into this relationship. [21]

Their speciation occurred during the Pleistocene epoch.[ citation needed ] The ancestor to both species was confined to southern Europe during the Last Glacial Maximum, where B. variegata evolved in the mountains in the west (Apennine and Balkans) and B. bombina in the lowlands to the east (the steppes around the Black and Caspian Sea). [22] As the glaciers receded, both species spread out to the rest of Europe but hybridized and competed with each other until B. bombina occupied the lowlands and B. variegata the higher altitudes.[ citation needed ]

While the two frogs hybridize in narrow hybrid zones of approximately 2 to 7 kilometres (1.2 to 4.3 mi) wide, [23] they generally avoid it by differing in their morphology and behavior. B. bombina prefers to breed in lowland seasonal ponds, such as wet meadows and floodplains, but ones that are still close to nearby permanent waterbodies. On the other hand, B. variegata prefers to breed in higher elevations in ephermal ponds that are quick to dry up. [23] B. bombina also spends more time confined to a waterbody compared to B. variegata, which is more terrestrial and has evolved longer legs and thicker skin to aid in their frequent migrations onto dry land. [24] [25] [26] Additionally, B. variegata is unable to sing as loudly as B. bombina due to their lack of internal vocal sacs, which forces them to find other breeding ponds without the other species of fire-bellied toad. [23] [5]

Secondary metabolites

Like its relatives – including B. variegata [27] and B. orientalis [28] – B. bombina produces bombinins. [29] The H. Michl group in Vienna were the first to study B. bombina and B. variegata, first publishing a partial bombinin amino acid sequence in Kiss & Michl 1962. [29] A few years later they discovered it was merely the carboxy terminal of a larger molecule in Csordás & Michl 1970, also showing antibacterial effect. [29] The antifungal effect of bombinins in the toads' skin makes them promising factors for incorporation into food packaging to retard spoilage. [29] More recently Jilek et al. 2005 searched for homologues of the isomerase and found the closest in Xenopus tropicalis , but also finding predicted homologues in various other vertebrates including the chicken (Gallus domesticus). [29]

The prokineticin family of compounds was first discovered in this species and B. variegata. [30] These two species produce Bv8 and subsequently other prokineticins have been isolated from other species in the genus, and predicted in Rana temporaria and Pelophylax esculentus . [30] [31]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Frog</span> Order of amphibians

A frog is any member of a diverse and largely carnivorous group of short-bodied, tailless amphibians composing the order Anura. The oldest fossil "proto-frog" Triadobatrachus is known from the Early Triassic of Madagascar, but molecular clock dating suggests their split from other amphibians may extend further back to the Permian, 265 million years ago. Frogs are widely distributed, ranging from the tropics to subarctic regions, but the greatest concentration of species diversity is in tropical rainforest. Frogs account for around 88% of extant amphibian species. They are also one of the five most diverse vertebrate orders. Warty frog species tend to be called toads, but the distinction between frogs and toads is informal, not from taxonomy or evolutionary history.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bombinatoridae</span> Family of amphibians

Bombinatoridae is a family of toads found in Eurasia. Species of the family have flattened bodies and some are highly toxic.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fire-bellied toad</span> Genus of amphibians

The fire-bellied toads are a group of six species of small frogs belonging to the genus Bombina.

Bombesin is a 14-amino acid peptide originally isolated from the skin of the European fire-bellied toad by Vittorio Erspamer et al. and named after its source. It has two known homologs in mammals called neuromedin B and gastrin-releasing peptide. It stimulates gastrin release from G cells. It activates three different G-protein-coupled receptors known as BBR1, -2, and -3. It also activates these receptors in the brain. Together with cholecystokinin, it is the second major source of negative feedback signals that stop eating behaviour.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Yellow-bellied toad</span> Species of amphibian

The yellow-bellied toad belongs to the order Anura, the archaeobatrachial family Bombinatoridae, and the genus of fire-bellied toads. The toad is distributed mainly across western Europe as well as a handful of countries in eastern Europe. While the population of the toad is steadily decreasing over time, its numbers are not critical enough to be considered threatened or extinct. Conservation efforts in Germany are taking place to remedy the declining population before it is too late.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Oriental fire-bellied toad</span> Species of amphibian

The Oriental fire-bellied toad is a small semiaquatic frog species found in northeastern Asia, where they primarily dwell in slow-moving bodies of water and temperate forests. Quite common throughout much of their range, these frogs have mild toxins that can be excreted through their skin, with their vibrant underbellies serving as a warning of this. While not a true toad, their green and black skin is covered in small tubercles, giving them a toadlike appearance. Their sounds, mainly produced by males during the mating season, are very unlike those of other frogs. While their population is in decline, their numbers are still high overall, with the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) rating them as a least-concern species. They are commonly kept as pets in land and water vivaria, as a relatively easy-to-care for species. They are also frequently used in scientific research, with their behavior, vocalizations, and learning skills all moderately studied.

<i>Bombina maxima</i> Species of amphibian

Bombina maxima, commonly known as the Yunnan firebelly toad or large-webbed bell toad, is a species of toad in the family Bombinatoridae found in Yunnan, China and likely to Myanmar. Its natural habitats include swamps, springs, marshes, arable land, canals, and ditches. Although easy to care for, handling a large-webbed toad should be kept to a minimum because their skin secretes a toxin that can cause irritation This toxin is rich in active proteins and antimicrobial peptides that are essential in maintaining its innate immunity and protecting it from predators that come in contact with its skin.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Apennine yellow-bellied toad</span> Species of amphibian

The Apennine yellow-bellied toad is a species of toad in the family Bombinatoridae endemic to Italy. Its natural habitats are temperate forests, temperate grassland, swamps, freshwater marshes, intermittent freshwater marshes, arable land, pastureland, ponds, open excavations, irrigated land, and seasonally flooded agricultural land. It is threatened by habitat loss.

In the 10th edition of Systema Naturae, Carl Linnaeus described the Amphibia as:

Animals that are distinguished by a body cold and generally naked; stern and expressive countenance; harsh voice; mostly lurid color; filthy odor; a few are furnished with a horrid poison; all have cartilaginous bones, slow circulation, exquisite sight and hearing, large pulmonary vessels, lobate liver, oblong thick stomach, and cystic, hepatic, and pancreatic ducts: they are deficient in diaphragm, do not transpire (sweat), can live a long time without food, are tenatious of life, and have the power of reproducing parts which have been destroyed or lost; some undergo a metamorphosis; some cast (shed) their skin; some appear to live promiscuously on land or in the water, and some are torpid during the winter.

The bombinin family of antimicrobial peptides includes the bombinin and maximin proteins from Bombina maxima. Two groups of antimicrobial peptides have been isolated from skin secretions of B. maxima. Peptides in the first group, named maximins 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5, are structurally related to bombinin-like peptides (BLPs). Unlike BLPs, sequence variations in maximins occurred all through the molecules. In addition to the potent antimicrobial activity, cytotoxicity against tumour cells and spermicidal action of maximins, maximin 3 possessed a significant anti-Simian-Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) activity. Maximins 1 and 3 have been found to be toxic to mice. Peptides in the second group, termed maximins H1, H2, H3 and H4, are homologous with bombinin H peptides.

Cehei Pond Nature Reserve is situated in north-western Romania, in Crasna river floodplain, in Sălaj County and is a protected area with aquatic vegetation and fauna specific to such area.

Hyaloklossia is a genus of parasitic alveolates in the phylum Apicomplexa. Only two species in this genus are currently recognised.

<i>Rhabdias bufonis</i> Species of roundworm

Rhabdias bufonis is a species of parasitic nematode in the family Rhabdiasidae. It was first described from the lungs of the European common toad (Bufo bufo) but has also been found in a number of other species of frog.

References

  1. ↑ Aram Agasyan; Aziz Avisi; Boris Tuniyev; Jelka Crnobrnja Isailovic; Petros Lymberakis; Claes Andrén; Dan Cogalniceanu; John Wilkinson; Natalia Ananjeva; Nazan Üzüm; Nikolai Orlov; Richard Podloucky; Sako Tuniyev; Uğur Kaya (2009). "Bombina bombina". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species . 2009: e.T2865A9489517. doi: 10.2305/IUCN.UK.2009.RLTS.T2865A9489517.en . Retrieved 11 November 2021.
  2. ↑ "Fire-bellied toad - Bombina bombina (Linnaeus, 1761)". European Environment Agency. 22 April 2019. Retrieved 14 April 2022.
  3. 1 2 Kuzmin; et al. (8 December 2019). "Bombina bombina". AmphibiaWeb. Retrieved 14 April 2022.
  4. 1 2 3 4 Lang, Mathias (26 November 1988). "Notes on the Genus bombina Oken (Anura: Bombinatoridae)". British Herpetological Society Bulletin. Archived from the original on Jul 30, 2023.
  5. 1 2 "Fire-bellied toad". Lifeamphicon. 7 May 2020. Retrieved 14 April 2022.
  6. ↑ Yilmaz, İrfan (January 1986). "On the distribution of the Fire-bellied Toad, Bombina bombina, in Turkey". Zoology in the Middle East. 1 (1): 109–110. doi:10.1080/09397140.1986.10637528.
  7. ↑ Uğurtaş; et al. (10 December 1999). "Two New Localities for Bombina bombina (Anura, Discoglossidae) in Turkey". Russian Journal of Herpetology. 6 (3). Archived from the original on Jul 30, 2023.
  8. ↑ Çevik; et al. (January 2008). "A mark-recapture study of the fire-bellied toad (Bombina bombina) using Digital Photographic Recognition and Dye Marking Techniques in North-western Turkey". Acta Biologica Universitatis Daugavpiliensis. 8 (1): 75–80 – via ResearchGate.
  9. 1 2 Aumaître, Damien (2020). Le Sonneur à ventre de feu Bombina bombina (Linnaeus, 1760) en Lorraine: historique, synthèse des études et problématique (PDF) (Report). Conservatoire d'espaces naturels de Lorraine, Commission Reptiles et Amphibiens de Lorraine, Grand Est – via Centre de Ressources: Espèces Exotiques Envahissantes.
  10. ↑ Briggs; et al. (January 1988). "Status for Bombina bombina in Denmark". Memoranda - Societatis Pro Fauna et Flora Fennica. 64 (3): 97–99 – via ResearchGate.
  11. 1 2 Hermaniuk; et al. (January 2006). "Amphibian fauna of the Romincka Forest Landscape Park". Płazy Parku Krajobrazowego Puszczy Rominckiej– via ResearchGate.
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  13. ↑ Mazgajska, Joanna (January 1996). "Distribution of amphibians in urban water bodies (Warsaw agglomeration, Poland)". Polish Journal of Ecology. 44 (3): 245–257 – via ResearchGate.
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  15. ↑ Széplaki (May 2006). "Feeding niche characteristics of a Bombina bombina population from Livada Plain (Satu-Mare County, Romania)". Analele Universităţii din Oradea, Fascicula Biologie. 13: 14–17 – via ResearchGate.
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  19. ↑ Birkenmeier, Elmar (1954). "Beobachtungen zur Nahrungsaufnahme und Paarungsbiologie der Gattung Bombina" (PDF). Verhandlungen der Zoologisch-Botanischen Gesellschaft in Wien. 94.
  20. ↑ Rafińska, Anna (July 1991). "Reproductive biology of the fire-bellied toads, Bombina bombina and B. variegata (Anura: Discoglossidae): egg size, clutch size and larval period length differences". Biological Journal of the Linnean Society. 43 (3): 197–210. doi:10.1111/j.1095-8312.1991.tb00593.x – via Oxford Academic.
  21. 1 2 3 4 Abbott, R.; Albach, D.; Ansell, S.; Arntzen, J. W.; Baird, S. J. E.; Bierne, N.; Boughman, J.; Brelsford, A.; Buerkle, C. A.; Buggs, R.; Butlin, R. K.; Dieckmann, U.; Eroukhmanoff, F.; Grill, A.; Cahan, S. H.; Hermansen, J. S.; Hewitt, G.; Hudson, A. G.; Jiggins, C.; Jones, J.; Keller, B.; Marczewski, T.; Mallet, J.; Martinez-Rodriguez, P.; Möst, M.; Mullen, S.; Nichols, R.; Nolte, A. W.; Parisod, C.; Pfennig, K.; Rice, A. M.; Ritchie, M. G.; Seifert, B.; Smadja, C. M.; Stelkens, R.; Szymura, J. M.; Väinölä, R.; Wolf, J. B. W.; Zinner, D. (2013-01-17). "Hybridization and speciation". Journal of Evolutionary Biology . 26 (2). European Society for Evolutionary Biology (Wiley): 229–246. doi:10.1111/j.1420-9101.2012.02599.x. ISSN   1010-061X. PMID   23323997. S2CID   830823.
  22. ↑ Arntzen, J. W. (December 1978). "Some Hypotheses on Postglacial Migrations of the Fire-Bellied Toad, Bombina bombina (Linnaeus) and the Yellow-Bellied Toad, Bombina variegata (Linnaeus)". Journal of Biogeography. 5 (4): 339–345. Bibcode:1978JBiog...5..339A. doi:10.2307/3038027. JSTOR   3038027.
  23. 1 2 3 Smolinský; et al. (7 December 2020). "Tadpoles of hybridising fire-bellied toads (B. bombina and B. variegata) differ in their susceptibility to predation". PLOS ONE. 15 (12): e0231804. Bibcode:2020PLoSO..1531804S. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0231804 . PMC   7721483 . PMID   33285552.
  24. ↑ Nürnberger; et al. (December 1995). "Natural Selection on Quantitative Traits in the Bombina Hybrid Zone". Evolution. 49 (6): 1224–1238. doi: 10.1111/j.1558-5646.1995.tb04449.x . PMID   28568525. S2CID   25393054.
  25. ↑ Noor, Mohamed A. F.; Feder, Jeffrey L. (2006-10-03). "Speciation genetics: evolving approaches". Nature Reviews Genetics . 7 (11). Nature Portfolio: 851–861. doi:10.1038/nrg1968. ISSN   1471-0056. PMID   17033626. S2CID   8881255. MAFN ORCID 0000-0002-5400-4408 GS 5nkhrpUAAAAJ.
  26. ↑ Barton, N. H. (2008-07-07). "The role of hybridization in evolution". Molecular Ecology . 10 (3). Wiley: 551–568. doi:10.1046/j.1365-294x.2001.01216.x. ISSN   0962-1083. PMID   11298968. S2CID   22129817.
  27. ↑ Simmaco, Maurizio; Kreil, Günther; Barra, Donatella (2009). "Bombinins, antimicrobial peptides from Bombina species". Biochimica et Biophysica Acta (BBA) - Biomembranes . 1788 (8). Elsevier: 1551–1555. doi: 10.1016/j.bbamem.2009.01.004 . ISSN   0005-2736. PMID   19366600.
  28. ↑ Thery, Thibaut; Lynch, Kieran M.; Arendt, Elke K. (2019-08-23). "Natural Antifungal Peptides/Proteins as Model for Novel Food Preservatives". Comprehensive Reviews in Food Science and Food Safety . 18 (5). Institute of Food Technologists (Wiley): 1327–1360. doi: 10.1111/1541-4337.12480 . ISSN   1541-4337. PMID   33336909. S2CID   202020450.
  29. 1 2 3 4 5
  30. 1 2 König, Enrico; Bininda-Emonds, Olaf R.P.; Shaw, Chris (2015). "The diversity and evolution of anuran skin peptides". Peptides . 63. Elsevier: 96–117. doi:10.1016/j.peptides.2014.11.003. ISSN   0196-9781. PMID   25464160. S2CID   12659095.
  31. ↑ Negri, L.; Melchiorri, P. (2006). "Opioid peptides from frog skin and Bv8-related peptides". In Kastin, JA (ed.). Handbook of biologically active peptides (1 ed.). Amsterdam: Academic Press. pp. 269–75.
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