© Matt
© Matt
© Matt
Habitat: middle and southern Europe
Status: Least Concern
When I first saw these photos, I thought to myself “this must be a wax replica of a toad. No way that’s real.” Upon closer inspection, I realized what I was looking at was an albino morph of a Yellow-bellied Toad (Bombina variegata). I’d never seen photos of an albino creature where the entire body, including the eyes, were the same shade of light orange.
Normally these toads are defined by their striking bright yellow to orange underbellies which usually cover more than half of their underside. If you check out the last photo above, you can see the albino and regular morphs side by side.
Here are a couple of other photos of what this toad normally looks like:
It’s crazy how a simple mutation can change the entire look and feel of this impressive creature. You’d think it would be less attractive without pigment, but I think it’s actually way more spectacular. But then again I’m a bit strange and do love a good albino.
