Dictionary

midwife toad en · NOUN

Etymology

Referring to the behavior in which males carry fertilized eggs on their backs.

Meanings

1. Any species of the genus Alytes, the males of which carry fertilized eggs on their backs.
   • A key preserved male specimen of the midwife toad was eventually shown to have been injected with India ink in the region of the normally pigmented nuptial pad. 1997, John T. Burns, Cosmic Influences on Humans, Animals, and Plants: An Annotated Bibliography, page 195:
   • The midwife toad is a slow-moving, terrestrial amphibian represented by four species of the genus Alytes (family Discoglossidae). The best-known species is A. obstetricans. 2011, John P. Rafferty, editor, Reptiles and Amphibians, page 218:
   • Fossils suggest that midwife toads were once widespread on Majorca and Menorca, but disappeared from lowlands of the former and entirely from the latter island several thousand years ago and coincident with the fossil appearance of the snake Natrix maura and the large frog Rana perezi. 1996, Trevor Beebee, Ecology and Conservation of Amphibians, page 168:

Forms

Synonyms

obstetric toad