The Reproductive System of a Fire Bellied Toad

Reproduction Period

• Fire-bellied toads can live to around 20 years and typically can produce thousands of offspring in a lifetime. These toads have a long hibernation period that runs from late autumn, around September or October, and continues until April. The reproduction cycle begins early in May and can last into August because females will deposit eggs at different times throughout the summer. Breeding pairs are formed randomly as a result of the male toad's successful completion of his mating ritual.

Males

• The male fire-bellied toads sing to attract females by calling incessantly during the daytime and evening hours with their soft voices. Unlike most other species of frogs and toads, the fire-bellied toad does not have a resonator. This means it makes its sounds through inhalation instead of exhalation. The singing increases in speed and frequency as the shallow puddles begin to get warmer with rising air temperatures. Once a female responds, males then fight one another to determine who will win the right to mate.

Females

• The female fire-bellied toad is capable of depositing eggs in clutches containing anywhere from around 30 eggs to upwards of 200 eggs. They can deposit multiple clutches throughout the breeding season and these clutches are typically attached to plants, rocks and roots.

Mating

• The fertilization of the female's eggs by the male is a process known as pelvic amplexus. Once a male has successfully won his mate, he clasps her around the middle with the special leathery pads on his forearms called nuptial pads, specially designed for this purpose. The pair swim around together for several hours maintaining the close contact necessary for proper fertilization. As the female releases eggs from the cloaca, the male fertilizes them before the jelly around the eggs has a chance to swell.

Development

• The embryonic and larval development will take around two months. If fertilization takes place in May, then hatching begins in late June or early July. Once hatched, the larvae will eat fungi, algae, protozoans, detritus and other plant life. As tadpoles, the diversity of plant and insects in their diet increases. Toadlets, which still have a small tail, have a diet similar to adult toads consisting of invertebrates like worms, mollusks and insects. Metamorphosis into an adult toad is complete by the end of Augus or beginning of September, before hibernation takes place and the cycle continues.