Fire-bellied Toad

This is a fire-bellied toad.  He doesn’t really have fire on his belly, but he is poisonous.  He’s very interesting because he has different colors on his back and his belly.  On his back, he is light green and dark green spotted.  This gives him camouflage and makes him blend in with the grass.  When an enemy gets too close, he jumps up and shows his black and red belly to try to scare it away.  If that doesn’t work, the enemy will soon find out that it has poison on its skin.

In this picture, you can see a little bit of his bright red belly.

Fire-bellied toads live in Korea, China, and Russia.  Their habitat is ponds, lakes, ditches, and rice paddies.  They eat insects, worms, and snails, and they grow about 2 inches long.  Sometimes people keep them as pets.

We took these pictures at the Frogs exhibit at the Milwaukee Public Museum.