Midwife Toads The Genus Alytes: History, Ecology, Systematics, Captive Breeding by Christopher J Michaels, Jaime Bosch, Phillip A Jervis, Rafael Márquez &Gonçalo M Rosa
Midwife toads of the genus Alytes are a little group of primarily Iberian anurans. These captivating toads bear cultural and scientific recognition on account of their unique, bell-like peeping call and their curious approach to paternal care, both of which surpass their petite, brown appearance and the uncommonness of an encounter in their natural habitat. The paternal care is given by the male toads, which earns them their common name, as they carry their clutches of eggs on their hind limbs before depositing their offspring in water when ready to hatch. This is even more unusual than parental care, which is normally absent.
