Bombina orientalis
| Oriental fire-bellied toad | |
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| Oriental fire-bellied toad Bombina orientalis |
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| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Amphibia |
| Order: | Anura |
| Family: | Bombinatoridae |
| Genus: | Bombina |
| Species: | B. orientalis |
| Binomial name | |
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Bombina orientalis Boulenger, 1890 |
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The Oriental fire-bellied toad (Bombina orientalis) is a small (4 cm, 2") semiaquatic frog species found in Korea, northeastern China, and adjacent parts of Russia. An introduced population exists near Beijing. They are commonly kept as pets in land and water vivaria. B. orientalis is also known as the 'tuti toad'.
It may properly be referred to as a frog, despite its common name, because of the tubercles on its back.
Oriental fire-bellied toads, species of Bombina, are typically a bright green with black mottling on their dorsal regions, but their complexion may also darken to brown and even black depending on their background scenery. Like other Bombina species, B. orientalis has a bright yellow to red (generally bright reddish-orange) ventral region mottled with dark brown to black. The skin on its dorsal side is covered in small tubercles, and although it is typically referred to as a toad, the fire-bellied toad is not a true toad - family Bufonidae.
They are noted for the bright green and black coloration on their backs, and orange and black on their undersides. In the wild, B. orientalis eats various small aquatic arthropods (among other things) from which they obtain beta-carotene, which aids in the coloration in the ventral region. These bright colors serve as a warning to predators of toxicity. The toxin is secreted through the skin mostly from the hind legs, and sometimes the belly, in a milky-like substance when the frog is disturbed or frightened. Not only will this frog emit this toxin, it will also lie on its back to show the color of its belly, indicating its toxicity to any predators.
Like other Bombina species, B. orientalis is semiaquatic, inhabiting warm, humid forested regions. It spends most of its time on land.
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Wikipedia