Like all toads the oriental fire-bellied toad uses the orange-red colouring of its belly to warn predators. In danger it releases a milky venom out of hundreds of glands. One milligram of it injected into a mouse kills it within 15 minutes.
But for humans the poison is highly interesting. It can potentially prevent the spread of human blood cancer cells. The poison also has a deadly effect on bacteria and could therefore be an alternative to antibiotics.
Category: other
Size: head to barrel up to 7cm
Age: 20 years
Sexually mature: with 1-2 years
food: insects, worms, snails
habitat: lentic, rarely flowing water
Danger: not endangered
distribution: East Asia-China, North and South Korea Russia
distribution area
