During the corona pandemic, the PCR test was considered the ultimate in detecting a virus infection. It impressed in terms of sensitivity (what was that again?) and specificity (also forgotten again…). So he was particularly precise. What you learned: Being positive is no reason to be happy. The situation is different in another area of application of the test procedure, which can be tickling and painful for people.
The city of Nuremberg recently reported that the PCR test was “on the heels” of the spadefoot toad. Now these are actually called heel humps in amphibians, but that’s a gift. Much more important is what is written further back in the message: “Spanish toads could be detected at two of the 20 sampling points.” However, the positive results from two urban ponds in Katzwang and a biotope of the Federal Nature Conservation in the Marienberg Park are not unreservedly positive, as the toads had previously been detectable in eleven water bodies. In view of this risk situation, one would like to make an exception to the tokens (i.e. the animals, not the verb).
After all, spadefoot toads still live in Nuremberg, that much is known. And this despite the fact that the animals, which are considered highly endangered, are difficult to identify: rarely seen because they are nocturnal and underground during the day. And rarely heard, because only croaking under water. However, the Nuremberg proof was not achieved with the stick in the toad’s nose (this would probably have been possible at most with the nasal toads native to Central America), but by means of so-called eDNA. In other words, genetic material that can be identified in the environment, in this case in water.
Because the spadefoot toad is so rare during the day (and for other reasons), the Nabu calls it a “freak among native amphibians” in a specially written portrait. Anyway, that name. Some already think it’s a good new insult (“You garlic toad!”). Incidentally, the name comes from an excreta with a corresponding odour, which the animals secrete in stressful situations. And that’s not all. By toad standards, their offspring are really impressive: the tadpoles are up to 22 centimeters long – about the length of a PCR test stick. . .