Meanings
plural midwife toads
- Any species of the genus Alytes, the males of which carry fertilized eggs on their backs.
A key preserved male specimen of the midwife toad was eventually shown to have been injected with India ink in the region of the normally pigmented nuptial pad.
1997, John T. Burns, Cosmic Influences on Humans, Animals, and Plants: An Annotated Bibliography, page 1952 more examples
Fossils suggest that midwife toads were once widespread on Majorca and Menorca, but disappeared from lowlands of the former and entirely from the latter island several thousand years ago and coincident with the fossil appearance of the snake Natrix maura and the large frog Rana perezi.
1996, Trevor Beebee, Ecology and Conservation of Amphibians, page 168The midwife toad is a slow-moving, terrestrial amphibian represented by four species of the genus Alytes (family Discoglossidae). The best-known species is A. obstetricans.
2011, John P. Rafferty, editor, Reptiles and Amphibians, page 218Synonyms: obstetric toad
Synonyms & antonyms
nounAny species of the genus Alytes, the males of which carry fertilized eggs on their backs.
More synonyms by meaning
nounEuropean toad whose male carries the fertilized eggs wrapped around its hind legs until they hatch
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Origin
Referring to the behavior in which males carry fertilized eggs on their backs.
Full word history & related roots →Cite this entry
midwife toad. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/midwife%20toad
“midwife toad.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/midwife%20toad. Accessed November 5, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “midwife toad,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/midwife%20toad.
Source: midwife toad on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.