CreatureData

Common midwife toad

Alytes obstetricans (Laurenti, 1768)

LCLeast Concernfrogs and toads

The common midwife toad (Alytes obstetricans) is a species in the family Alytidae, order Anura. Recorded adults weigh about 13.4 g. Its IUCN Red List status is Least Concern.

Common midwife toad (Alytes obstetricans)
Photo: Frank Vassen from Brussels, Belgium · CC BY 2.0 · Wikimedia Commons

Quick facts about the common midwife toad

Weight
13.4 gsrc for Weight
Length
up to 5.5 cmsrc for Length
Lifespan
Not recorded
Diet
Invertivoresrc for Diet
Longest recorded lifespan
7 years
Main food
arthropodssrc for Main food
Habitat
Not recorded
Young per litter or clutch
53 – 171src for Young per litter or clutch
Reproduction
Eggssrc for Reproduction
Active
At night (nocturnal)src for Active
Conservation status
Least Concern (IUCN)src for Conservation status
Countries on record
Not recorded

Where does the common midwife toad live?

Not recorded

What is the common midwife toad?

Quoted from WikipediaCC BY-SA 4.0

The common midwife toad (Alytes obstetricans) is a species of midwife frog in the family Alytidae (formerly Discoglossidae). It is found in Belgium, France, Germany, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Portugal, Spain, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom (although, in the latter, only as an introduction). Like other members of its genus (Alytes), the male toad carries the eggs around entwined on his back and thighs until they are ready to hatch.

Its natural habitats are temperate forests, dry forests, shrubland, rivers, freshwater lakes, freshwater marshes, temperate desert, arable land, pastureland and urban areas. It is threatened by habitat loss.

From the Wikipedia article “Common midwife toad” (en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Common_midwife_toad&oldid=1350309718), by Wikipedia contributors, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0). This block is kept separate from our own text.

What does the common midwife toad sound like?

Odé, Baudewijn .mw-parser-output .messagebox{margin:4px… · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons

Is the common midwife toad endangered?

The common midwife toad is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List: it is not currently at risk of extinction.

  1. LCLeast Concern
  2. NTNear Threatened
  3. VUVulnerable
  4. ENEndangered
  5. CRCritically Endangered
  6. EWExtinct in the Wild
  7. EXExtinct

Category via Wikidata (CC0). Find the full assessment on the IUCN Red List. See all Least Concern species. What the categories mean.

How is the common midwife toad classified?

  1. kingdomAnimalia
  2. phylumChordata
  3. classAmphibia
  4. orderAnura
  5. familyAlytidae
  6. genusAlytes
  7. SpeciesAlytes obstetricans (Laurenti, 1768)

Synonyms Alytes campanisonus boscai, Alytes obstetricans boscai, Alytes obstetricans lusitanicus, Alytes obstetricans pertinax, Alytes obstetricians, Bombinator obstetricans, Bufo obstetricans, Obstetricans vulgaris, Rana obstetricans

Other names and names in other languages (35)
  • Midwife toadEnglish
  • Midwife toadEnglish
  • Sapo Partero ComúnEnglish
  • sapu parteruAsturian
  • TòtilCatalan
  • Gripau llevadorCatalan
  • ropuška starostliváCzech
  • FødselshjælperfrøDanish
  • GlockenfroschGerman
  • GeburtshelferkröteGerman
  • Gemeine GeburtshelferkröteGerman
  • Gewöhnliche GeburtshelferkröteGerman
  • Nördliche GeburtshelferkröteGerman
  • Sapo Partero ComúnSpanish
  • txantxiku arruntaBasque
  • kätilösammakkoFinnish
  • Alyte accoucheurFrench
  • Crapaud accroucheurFrench
  • Sapiño comadrónGalician
  • Sapo parteiro comúnGalician
  • מיילדHebrew
  • közönséges dajkabékaHungarian
  • Alite ostetricoItalian
  • サンバガエルJapanese
  • SuebelmoukLuxembourgish
  • VroedmeesterpadDutch
  • Pętówka babienicaPolish
  • Sapo-parteiro-comumPortuguese
  • Жаба-повитухаRussian
  • Обыкновенная повитухаRussian
  • Обыкновенная жаба-повитухаRussian
  • porodničarska krastačaSlovenian
  • barnmorskegrodaSwedish
  • Ebe kurbağaTurkish
  • harilik köidikkonnroot

Catalogue of LifeWikipediaiNaturalistTAXREFWikidataIUCN Red List

Relatives of the common midwife toad

Other species in the same genus Alytes.

CompareCommon midwife toad vs Majorcan midwife toadCommon midwife toad vs Iberian midwife toadCommon midwife toad vs Betic midwife toadCommon midwife toad vs Moroccan midwife toad

Common questions

Answered only where our data holds the answer.

How big is the common midwife toad?

An adult common midwife toad weighs 13.4 g, according to values recorded on Wikidata.

Is the common midwife toad endangered?

The common midwife toad is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List, meaning it is not currently at risk of extinction.

What does the common midwife toad eat?

Its recorded main food is arthropods.

What kind of animal is the common midwife toad?

The common midwife toad (Alytes obstetricans) belongs to the family Alytidae in the order Anura.

Sources and how to cite this page

Data as of 2026-11-11. How this page is put together.

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APA

CreatureData. (2026). Common midwife toad (Alytes obstetricans). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/common-midwife-toad

MLA

“Common midwife toad (Alytes obstetricans).” CreatureData, 2026, https://creaturedata.com/animals/common-midwife-toad.

BibTeX
@misc{common_midwife_toad_2026,
  title = {Common midwife toad (Alytes obstetricans)},
  author = {{CreatureData}},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://creaturedata.com/animals/common-midwife-toad},
  note = {Data as of 2026-11-11}
}