| Toad venom toxicity
A friend brought an injured common toad to the house a few days ago. It had been found in the middle of the road and looked as if it had a broken front leg. There was a lso a little blood on its head and some skin had been scraped off its back, but it seemed quite alert. I put it in the undergrowth near our pond and left it to its own devices. It managed to crawl a few feet over the next few hours but I found it dead the next day. Over the next few days the dead body attracted a number of different species of fly. I've since found 3 large bluebottles, each apparently sat on a nearby leaf but very dead. I presume they've made a meal of the toad's skin and subcutaneous tissue. My question is, does the common toad have venom in its skin that is toxic enough to kill the flies? |