Bufo verrucosissimus

New findings of rare amphibians and reptiles in South Ossetia

Authors: Kidov A. A., Ivolga R. A.

The paper presents new data on the distribution of Pelodytes caucasicus, Bufo verrucosissimus and Pelias tuniyevi in South Ossetia. The research was carried out on the Dzau district territory in the first decade of July 2023 and in the third decade of April 2024. In the Patsa River gorge (a right tributary of Bolshaya Liakhva River), P. caucasicus, B. verrucosissimus, and P. tuniyevi were discovered for the first time, and P. caucasicus and B. verrucosissimus were discovered in the Ertso Depression.

Caucasian toad, Bufo verrucosissimus (Pallas, 1814), (Anura: Bufonidae) in the Caspian Sea basin (Russian Caucasus)

Authors: Lotiev K. Y., Telpov V. A., Doronin I. V., Yufereva V. V., Klenina A. A., Popova A. L.

The Caucasian toad, Bufo verrucosissimus (Pallas, 1814), is a typical representative of the West Caucasian forest mesophilic batrachofauna, requiring special protection measures. The known habitat of the species in the Russian part of the Caucasus was limited to the Black Sea basin. In the course of the studies undertaken, the Caucasian toad was found in many localities of the Predgorny district of the Stavropol territory (Caspian Sea basin), where at present relatively favorable natural conditions have developed for it.