The Betic midwife toad is endemic to southern Spain, and belongs to one of the oldest frog families, the midwife toads. This family is so-named because the males carry the strings of fertilised eggs around on their hind legs, depositing them in water when they are ready to hatch. The warts on the back of the Betic midwife toad give off a strong smelling poison when the toad is handled or attacked.

Excessive water withdrawal, droughts, and modernisation of agricultural practices, including the replacement of traditional ground pools for cattle with metal water tanks that this species cannot breed in, have all contributed to the loss of the breeding habitat of the Betic midwife toad. Furthermore, the virulent chytrid fungus which has caused declines of a huge number of frog species worldwide has also been found in populations of this species. The Betic midwife toad has been classified as Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species.

EDGE aims to restore the breeding habitat of the Betic midwife toad through the creation of breeding ponds and refuges for this species in its wild habitat. We will also fund a screening programme to survey Betic midwife toad populations for chytrid fungus to attempt to prevent the disease from annihilating this species in the wild. An awareness-raising programme will be carried out alongside these activities to increase their success. A successful breeding programme has been implemented for the closely related Mallorcan midwife toad, and EDGE would like to support an investigation into the possibility of doing the same for the Betic midwife toad, if necessary.

£10 Could fund disease screening for the virulent chytrid fungus for an amphibian population

£200 Could help fund habitat restoration for an EDGE species

£1000 Could contribute to the costs of a large-scale conservation project run by local conservationists and scientists