The Herpetological Journal

pp.568-573

Authors: J. Alan Holman And Anthony J. Stuart

Abstract: A lacustrine Chara marl (ea. 10,000-8,800 radiocarbon years BP) at the Whitemoor Channel Site near Bosley, East Cheshire, yielded fossil amphibian remains, including palmate newt Trirurus helvericus, smooth newt Triturus vulgaris, natterjack toad Bufo calamira, common toad Bufo bufo, common frog Rana temporaria and material belonging to these genera which probably represent the same five species. All of these species are extant and occur naturally in Britain today, although for the past two hundred years the natterjack toad Bufo calamira has occurred only locally in Britain, being essentially restricted to coastal dunes and inland heaths. The well-dated Flandrian (early Holocene) finds from Whitemoor Channel are an important addition to previous, poorly stratified, records from Cow Cave, Chudleigh, Devon, and Ightham Fissures, Sevenoaks, Kent. Taken together, these records demonstrate early colonisation of England by B. calamira after the last Cold Stage and suggest a wider geographical occurrence of the natterjack than in Britain today.