Mallorcan midwife toad  (Alytes muletensis)

Information authenticated (12/6/03) by Richard Gibson, Curator of Herpetology, Zoological Society of London.
http://www.zsl.org

• Endemic: a species or taxonomic group that is only found in one particular country or geographic area.
• Genus: a category used in taxonomy, which is below ‘family’ and above ‘species’. A genus tends to contain species that have characteristics in common. The genus forms the first part of a ‘binomial’ Latin species name; the second part is the specific name.
• Hibernate/ Hibernation: a winter survival strategy characteristic of some mammals in which an animal’s metabolic rate slows down and a state of deep sleep is attained. Whilst hibernating, animals survive on stored reserves of fat that they have accumulated in summer. In insects, the correct term for hibernation is ‘diapause’, a temporary pause in development and growth. Any stage of the lifecycle (eggs, larvae, pupae or adults) may enter diapause, which is typically associated with winter.
• Metamorphosis: an abrupt physical change from the larval to the adult form.

1. IUCN Red List (November 2004) www.redlist.org
2. Amphibia Web (February, 2002) http://elib.cs.berkeley.edu/cgi-bin/amphib_query?where-genus=Alytes&where-species=muletensis
3. Gibson, R. (June, 2003) Pers. comm.
4. Froglog IUCN/SSC Declining Amphibian Populations Task Force. August 1994 No. 10 http://www2.open.ac.uk/biology/froglog/FROGLOG-10.html#xtocid235098
5. Open University (February, 2002) http://www.open.ac.uk
6. Durrell Wildlife Conservation Trust (Previously the Jersey Wildlife Preservation Trust) (September, 2002) www.durrellwildlife.org