Weinand Wildlife
Nördliche Geburtshelferkröte ♂ (Alytes obstetricans)
The center of speciation of the Alytes genus with it's five currently recognized species is the Iberian peninsula. Alytes obstetricans - the common midwife toad - being the only member of this genus to expand it's range as far north as Germany. As is so often the case, this species too is particularly vulnerable on the edges of it's distribution and in fact listet as critically endangered for North-Rhine Westphalia.
You might imagine my joy after two years of searching for this species when I first heard a males silvery chime resounding from a broken drainage pipe sticking out of a spoil tip's hillside. During the afternoon and evening I was able to make out at least five additional callers. As if this wasn't enough I managed to find proof of reproduction for this site in the form of three metamorphlings, the date suggesting an overwintering in tadpole form. To top it all off I even was able to get a few golden hour shots of this beautiful male showcasing the sophisticated parental care behaviour - unique in European anurans - which (although due to misinterpretation) gave the mifwife toad it's name in many languages.
The males of all Alytes species, after the land based mating, wrap the fertilized egg strings around their heels and carry them for multiple weeks, controlling for temperature and moisture and releasing the tadpoles into a body of water when they are ready to hatch. In my mind one of the most fascinating amphibians of Europe.
Bergehalde im Ruhrgebiet.
Nördliche Geburtshelferkröte ♂ (Alytes obstetricans)
The center of speciation of the Alytes genus with it's five currently recognized species is the Iberian peninsula. Alytes obstetricans - the common midwife toad - being the only member of this genus to expand it's range as far north as Germany. As is so often the case, this species too is particularly vulnerable on the edges of it's distribution and in fact listet as critically endangered for North-Rhine Westphalia.
You might imagine my joy after two years of searching for this species when I first heard a males silvery chime resounding from a broken drainage pipe sticking out of a spoil tip's hillside. During the afternoon and evening I was able to make out at least five additional callers. As if this wasn't enough I managed to find proof of reproduction for this site in the form of three metamorphlings, the date suggesting an overwintering in tadpole form. To top it all off I even was able to get a few golden hour shots of this beautiful male showcasing the sophisticated parental care behaviour - unique in European anurans - which (although due to misinterpretation) gave the mifwife toad it's name in many languages.
The males of all Alytes species, after the land based mating, wrap the fertilized egg strings around their heels and carry them for multiple weeks, controlling for temperature and moisture and releasing the tadpoles into a body of water when they are ready to hatch. In my mind one of the most fascinating amphibians of Europe.
Bergehalde im Ruhrgebiet.