Toad

A toad is any of a number of species of amphibians in the order Anura (frogs) that are characterized by dry, leathery skin, short legs, and parotoid glands.

Biology

A distinction between frogs and toads is not made in scientific taxonomy, but is common in popular culture (folk taxonomy), in which toads are associated with drier skin and more terrestrial habitats than animals commonly called frogs. In scientific taxonomy, toads are found in the families Bufonidae, Bombinatoridae, Discoglossidae, Pelobatidae, Rhinophrynidae, Scaphiopodidae, and Microhylidae. There is no definitive collective noun for toads, and like most collective nouns, the listed proposals are fanciful; one example is a knot of toads; others include a lump, nest, or knob of toads.

The function of the bumps on the skins of toads has been speculated to be to help the animal to blend more effectively into its environment by breaking up its visual outline. Usually the largest of the bumps are those that cover the parotoid glands. The bumps commonly are referred to as "warts", but this is fanciful; they have nothing to do with warts, being fixed in size, present on healthy specimens and are not a result of infection or injury.

Toad (comics)

Toad (Mortimer Toynbee) is a fictional supervillain appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. He is most often depicted as an enemy of the X-Men, and was originally a weak, hunchbacked mutant, with a superhuman leaping ability. He was Magneto's sniveling servant in the 1960s line-up of the Brotherhood of Evil Mutants. He eventually led his own version of the Brotherhood, which was more involved in petty crime than mutant liberation.

Ray Park played a significantly different version of Toad in 2000's X-Men film. He was cocky and sarcastic and his superhuman leaping ability, agility, toxic saliva, prehensile tongue and wall-scaling abilities made him a match for several X-Men. Aspects of this Toad have since been implemented into the comic book version. Subsequently, most versions of Toad written or drawn after 2000 resemble the Ray Park version more closely than the original Toad. A younger Toad appears in the film X-Men: Days of Future Past, played by Evan Jonigkeit.

Toad (album)

Toad is the eponymous debut album by the Swiss rock band of the same name. It was engineered by legendary British producer Martin Birch. After the recording finished, singer Benjamin Jaeger left the group and was not replaced.

Track listing

Personnel

Saab

Saab may refer to:

People with the surname

See also

Saab Automobile

Saab Automobile AB/ˈsɑːb/ is a currently inactivemanufacturer of automobiles that was founded in Sweden in 1945 when its parent company, SAAB AB (soon to be Saab AB), began a project to design a small automobile. The first production model, the Saab 92, was launched in 1949. In 1968 the parent company merged with Scania-Vabis, and ten years later the Saab 900 was launched, in time becoming Saab's best-selling model. In the mid-1980s the new Saab 9000 model also appeared.

In 1989, the automobile division of Saab-Scania was restructured into an independent company, Saab Automobile AB. The American manufacturer General Motors took 50% ownership with an investment of US$600 million, and then in 2000, exercised its option to acquire the remaining 50% for a further US$125 million; so turning Saab Automobile into a wholly owned GM subsidiary. In 2010 GM sold Saab Automobile AB to the Dutch automobile manufacturer Spyker Cars N.V.

After struggling to avoid insolvency throughout 2011, the company petitioned for bankruptcy following the failure of a Chinese consortium to complete a purchase of the company; the purchase had been blocked by the former owner GM, which opposed the transfer of technology and production rights to a Chinese company. On 13 June 2012, it was announced that a newly formed company called National Electric Vehicle Sweden (NEVS) had bought Saab Automobile's bankrupt estate. According to "Saab United", the first Nevs Saab 9-3 drove off its pre-production line on 19 September 2013. Full production restarted on 2 December 2013, initially the same gasoline-powered 9-3 Aero sedans that were built before Saab went bankrupt, and intended to get the automaker’s supply chain reestablished as it attempted development of a new line of NEVS-Saab products. NEVS lost its license to manufacture automobiles under the Saab name in the summer of 2014. Since then, none have been manufactured, using the Saab label.

Saab 9000

The Saab 9000 is an executive car that was produced by the Swedish company Saab from 1984 to 1998. Representing the company's foray into the executive car scene, the 9000 remained in production until it was replaced by the Saab 9-5 in late 1999.

Saab designed the 9000 as part of the Type Four platform in conjunction with the Italian automaker Fiat Automobiles. Fiat retailed similar derivative versions as the more basic Fiat Croma, the luxury-themed Lancia Thema, and the sports-oriented Alfa Romeo 164. Unlike the 164, which shares only the chassis, the Croma and Thema are outwardly similar to the 9000. As such, much of the bodywork appeared interchangeable between the 9000, Croma and Thema; for example, the doors. However, because Saab fitted heavier side impact protection they will not fit. Also the front of the Saab is radically different from the Italian siblings due to the much improved crash protection. Only seven different parts are actually interchangeable. The 9000's body was designed by Giorgetto Giugiaro and Saab designer Björn Envall.