An Asian common toad [also known as the black-spectacled toad, Duttaphrynus melanostictus] sits on a lily pad in a pond in Taiwan. These toads are surprisingly good swimmers, adapted to breed during monsoon season, when water sources are especially treacherous. Images by
Here’s something spooky for today! The skeleton of an American toad [Anaxyrus americanus] articulated and on display at the Smithsonian Museum of Natural History in DC. The bony projections along the chest are not actually ribs, and in fact, most frogs lack ribs or a diaphragm at all. The shape and weight of ribs against the chest can be a dangerous trait for animals that move by hopping. If they fail to land on their front feet they could easily break their ribs. Therefore most frogs have evolved to not have ribs, while simultaneously improving the mechanisms that allow them to land safely on their front feet after a jump. Image by Flickr user
A sampling of Yosemite toads[Anaxyrus canorus, formerly Bufo canorus] a species endemic to the Sierra Nevada mountains of California. Unlike many species of frogs these toads spend a great deal of time in the sunshine to warm up to the ideal temperature for breeding and eating. Images by Californiaherps.com.
Sometimes we have to suffer for fashion, as demonstrated by this Japanese toad [Bufo japonicus] owned by blogger
ヒキガエル生活. Toads and other frogs routinely shed and eat their skin, a process that is viscerally gruesome to watch, but results in a brightly colored, clean, and lovely new complexion.
A portly little Rhinella margaritifera [commonly referred to as the Forest Toad, South American common toad and crested forest toad] uses its brow ridges and dorsal stripe to better blend in with the tropical leaf litter. Images by Jacob Loyacano
Urocyon's Jaunts 2.0 
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