Bombina variegata

Yellowbelly toad
92/43/EEC Directive ann. II e IV

The yellowbelly toad appears like a small toad, brown and warty.
It is unique for the characteristic heart-shaped apple and for the showy yellow coloration of the belly, sometimes fading to orange, blue with gray spots more or less abundant.
The eye-catching livery serves as a warning to predators about the toxicity of the animal; if it feels threatened it shows a strut, arching the abdomen and remained so still in front of the potential predator to dissuade him from biting and swallowing. To function, the signal must be unequivocal, immediate, leveraging the traumatic memory of the predator generated by previous experience with the warty skin. The unfortunate aggressor will end well for associating with the message "bright yellow on a dark background," meaning "disgusting and irritating effect". The animal is harmless to humans.
It is a predominantly diurnal species, it attendes various aquatic environments such as low stream rivers, small ponds, lakes and sometimes watering places, where water is generally shallow. Between March and April the animals reach reproductive site, depending on the altitude, and remain there until September or October. The male, without bags, emit a song consisting of short fluting harmonic notes.
In adults the diet consists mainly of insects, spiders and crustaceans. The species is threatened by habitat loss, fragmentation of populations and chemical pollution.