Fire-bellied toad
| Fire-bellied toads | |
|---|---|
| European fire-bellied toad (Bombina bombina) | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Amphibia |
| Order: | Anura |
| Family: | Bombinatoridae |
| Genus: | Bombina Oken, 1816 |
| Species | |
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See text | |
| Synonyms | |
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List
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The fire-bellied toads are a group of six species of small frogs (most species typically no longer than 1.6 in or 4.1 cm) belonging to the genus Bombina.
The name "fire-bellied" is derived from the brightly colored red- or yellow-and-black patterns on the toads' ventral regions, which act as aposematic coloration, a warning to predators of the toads' reputedly foul taste. The other parts of the toads' skins are green or dark brown. When confronted with a potential predator, these toads commonly engage in an unkenreflex, Unken- being the combining form of Unke, German for fire-bellied toad. In the unkenreflex, the toad arches its back, raising its front and back legs to display the aposematic coloration of its ventral side.