Guttural Toad (Sclerophrys gutturalis) lives in savannah grasslands across Southern Africa. It feeds on insects small invertebrates. Its conservation status is Least Concern.
Hear the Guttural Toad
A real field recording of the Guttural Toad, made in the wild.
The guttural toad inhabits a broad swathe of sub-Saharan Africa, extending from Kenya in the east across to Angola in the west and down to the tip of South Africa. Its distribution includes nations such as Angola, Botswana, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ethiopia, Eswatini, Kenya, Lesotho, Malawi, Mauritius, Mozambique, Namibia, Réunion, Somalia, Tanzania, Zambia and Zimbabwe.
Males reach a snout-to-vent length of up to 90 mm, while females grow to 120 mm. That translates to about 3.5 in for males and 4.7 in for females, making it a large toad.
The forearms of the guttural toad are edged with distinctive white tubercles, a feature that stands out against its generally brown skin. A vivid red patch is present on the back of each thigh, providing a striking colour cue that can be seen when the animal jumps. Beneath the skin the underparts are pale and granular, and males display a dark throat that becomes prominent during calling.
Male guttural toads produce a guttural snore that repeats roughly every three seconds, a sound that can be heard throughout the year. Their breeding activity peaks in October and November, when they gather on the surface of permanent water bodies. These gatherings can become large choruses as many males call together, creating a distinctive acoustic display in their habitats.
After the eggs are laid, the tadpoles develop for about 75 days before they metamorphose into juvenile toads. In some breeding ponds they emerge in such huge numbers that they carpet the surrounding ground once they leave the water. This massive emergence draws many predators, which feed on the abundant tadpoles, linking the toad's reproductive boom to a seasonal food surge.
Sources
Every fact above was checked against these pages, and kept only where one of them states it.
