animals
The green toad is amphibian of the year 2022
The green toad shines with a reddish color and has now been named amphibian of the year 2022. Photo: Benny Trapp / DGHT / dpa
© dpa-infocom GmbH
The green toad, with its spotted color, is one of the most attractive amphibian species in Germany. It is considered to be critically endangered, mainly because of industrialized agriculture.
Lurch of the year 2022 is the European green toad, which is endangered in Germany. Their beige-green spotted camouflage pattern with reddish knobs and greenish eyes make them unmistakable, announced the German Society for Herpetology and Terrarium Science (DGHT) on Friday in Fellbach and Salzhemmendorf.
The six to eight centimeter long amphibians probably got their name from their ability to lighten or darken the basic color, depending on the surface. With the freestyle for Lurch of the Year, the DGHT wants to draw attention to the endangerment of the animal species.
The animals hardly have any refuge any more
With its spotted coloration, the green toad (Bufotes viridis) is one of the most attractive amphibian species in Germany, but also one of the most threatened due to decades of population decline. According to the information, it is on the red lists in Germany, Austria and Switzerland and is listed there as “critically endangered” or “extinct” in some regions. The main cause is the increasingly industrialized agriculture. The animals also have fewer and fewer sand and gravel pits as retreat areas.
The green toad should actually be amphibian of the year in 2021. Due to the corona pandemic, this had to be postponed to the following year. The DGHT names the reptile and amphibian of the year alternately. Because many conferences, excursions and protective measures relating to the reptile of 2020 – the sand lizard – were canceled due to the corona, the experts extended the campaign.