The Food of the Common Malayan Toad, Bufo melanostictus Schneider

Abstract

The gut contents of 160 Bufo melanostictus showed that this toad feeds on a wide range of invertebrates of which insects form the greater part. Feeding was confined to ground and litter-dwelling forms but was apparently unselective. All forms within a size range of 5.0-20.0 mm were ingested, including such forms as scorpions. The prey smaller than 5.0 mm showed less diversity, suggesting that these forms are less easily distinguished by the toad. Differences occur between the diets of toads from the Singapore Botanic Gardens and the Ampang area near Kuala Lumpur. These differences may be related to differences in the faunas of the two localities. The intake of vegetable material seems too great to be explained by accidental ingestion, but the intake of inorganic material may have been an accidental result of feeding on organic detritus.