{{Short description|Species of toad}} {{Distinguish|Asian common toad|Asian giant toad}} {{Speciesbox | image = Bufo gargarizans profile.jpg | image_caption = Specimen collected on mountainside in Miryang, South Korea. | status = LC | status_system = IUCN3.1 | status_ref = <ref name="iucn status 17 November 2021">{{cite iucn |author=IUCN SSC Amphibian Specialist Group |date=2021 |title=''Bufo gargarizans'' |volume=2021 |article-number=e.T78017839A197248539 |doi=10.2305/IUCN.UK.2021-1.RLTS.T78017839A197248539.en |access-date=17 November 2021}}</ref> | taxon = Bufo gargarizans | authority = Cantor, 1842 }}
The '''Asiatic toad''' or '''Chusan Island toad''' ('''''Bufo gargarizans''''') is a species of toad endemic to East Asia. The species was previously classified as ''Bufo bufo gargarizans'', a subspecies of the common toad.
== Distribution and habitat == It is common in China (specifically Anhui, Fujian, Gansu, Guizhou, Hebei, Heilongjiang, Henan, Hubei, Hunan, Inner Mongolia, Jiangsu, Jiangxi, Jilin, Qinghai, Shaanxi, Shandong, Shanxi, Sichuan, and Zhejiang) and portions of the Russian Far East (up north to the Amur River valley and on Sakhalin Island, and east to Transbaikalia in Siberia),<ref>{{cite web |url=http://amphibiaweb.org/cgi-bin/amphib_query?query_src=aw_search_index&where-genus=Bufo&where-species=gargarizans&rel-genus=equals&rel-species=equals |title=''Bufo gargarizans'' |year=2012 |work=AmphibiaWeb: Information on amphibian biology and conservation |publisher=Berkeley, California: AmphibiaWeb |access-date=3 November 2012}}</ref> but relatively rare on the Korean Peninsula. Asiatic toads are also found on the Miyako Islands of southern Japan, although they have been extirpated from some islands in recent years, possibly including Okinawa. The Miyako subspecies, '''''Bufo gargarizans miyakonis''''', is also known as the '''Miyako toad'''.<ref name="iucn status 17 November 2021" />
The Asiatic toad avoids dense forests, but is found in most other habitats, including grasslands, open forests, meadows, and cultivated areas. It prefers humid areas, and is rarely found at altitudes of more than 800 meters.<ref name="iucn status 17 November 2021" />
== Relationship with humans == The Asiatic toad plays an important role in traditional Chinese medicine. An extract of the toxins secreted by the toad, known as toad venom or ''chan-su'', has long been touted for its medicinal properties.{{Citation needed|date=December 2024}} In addition, dried toad skins have been prescribed as remedies for dropsy and other ailments.{{Citation needed|date=December 2024}} More recently, Western medical science has also taken an interest in the toad. In 1998, an antimicrobial peptide was extracted from the toad, and patented.<ref>{{cite web |title=A novel antimicrobial peptide isolated from ''Bufo bufo gargarizans'' |url=https://patentscope.wipo.int/search/en/detail.jsf?docId=WO1998007440 |access-date=2025-05-21 |website=Patentscope}}</ref>
== Gallery == <gallery> Image:Toad_and_Frog.jpg| A full-grown male Asiatic toad housed with a captive mature female American bullfrog ''Rana catesbeiana'' Image:Bufo gargarizans.jpg| ''Bufo gargarizans'' in a garden in Liaoning Province, China Image:Bufo gargarizans dorsal sitting.jpg Image:Bufo gargarizans walking.jpg Image:Bufo gargarizans frontal.jpg File:Asiatic toad 2.jpg </gallery>
== See also == * Bufotoxins * ''Dobrovirus bufonis'' * Jin Chan * List of amphibians of Korea
== References == {{Commons category|Bufo gargarizans}} {{Wikispecies|Bufo gargarizans}} {{Reflist}} {{Taxonbar|from=Q1205117}}
Category:Bufo Category:Amphibians of China Category:Amphibians of Japan Category:Amphibians of Korea Category:Amphibians of Russia Category:Amphibians described in 1842