Midwife Toads are named after the behaviour of the male toads which carry the eggs around their lower body and legs until they hatch and then deposit the tadpoles into water. The Mallorcan Midwife Toad, discovered only in 1977, is native to limestone streams of northern Mallorca (Majorca).

Tadpoles above. There are five species of Midwife Toad: the Mallorcan/Majorcan; the Common, native to Western Europe from western Germany to northern Portugal and introduced to the UK; the Iberian, native to western Spain and Portugal; the Betic, native to southeastern Spain and the Moroccan, endemic to Morocco.

The Iberian Midwife Toad is native to meadows and forests of Spain and Portugal. It grows to 4cm long, burrows well and spends much of the time underground to stop its skin drying out. Threats include habitat loss, pollution of breeding pools and introduction of invasive aquatic predators.