Bufo bufo, Sex Machine
What makes the common toad so common is uncommonly beautiful.
![Erkroeten pair (Bufo bufo) spawning, the black dots are the eggs in the spawning cord](/sites/default/files/styles/sierra_full_page_width/public/sierra/articles/big/2016-5-openingshot-ph1-WB.jpg.webp?itok=4vH9Zdt5)
Photo by Solvin Zankl.
The common toad (Bufo bufo) is common because it's a reproduction machine. Females lay double strings of eggs, up to 6,000 at a time, which are fertilized by a closely attending male. Two to three weeks later—boom! A new generation.