Spadefoot Toad Comments (4)
Chase
"thank you for the info it helped with my biome project "
Devon Thomas H.
"Pretty good for my biome project." ...
Plains Spadefoot Toad (Spea bombifrons)
Description: To 2¼" snout-vent length. Color greenish, gray, or brown, with scattered darker spots or blotches. Bony lump between eyes. Wedge-shaped spade on each hind foot.
Couch's Spadefoot Toad
Scaphiopus couchii
Spadefoot toads aren't around much. They spend a great deal of their time buried in the soil, waiting for the rains that must eventually come.
Eastern Spadefoot
Scientific Name: Scaphiopus holbrookii
Size: 1.75-2.25 inches (4-6 cm) in length
PA Status: Endangered Species
Habitat Type:
Sandy soil along the floodplains of streams and rivers.
Eastern Spadefoot Toad - Scaphiopus holbrookii
Diagnostic Features:
Size: 2 to 3 inches (45 to 72 mm)
Color: ...
Eastern Spadefoot Toad (Scaphiopus holbrookii)
Photos by J.D. Willson unless otherwise noted
Hear call ...
Eastern Spadefoot
Scaphiopus holbrookii
Listen to the Call
Photo by JD Willson ...
Couch's Spadefoot
Sighting:
near Sierra Vista, Cochise County, Arizona ...
The Eastern Spadefoot Toad, Scaphiopus holbrookii holbrookii, is found in temporary ponds statewide. It is greenish to brown with light stripes. Its spades are black. It has warty skin and large eyes with vertical pupils. It is 3" long.
Spadefoot Toads can be found from north-central to southern California. It likes dry areas with sandy plants. The Spadefoot looks for places where it can burrow and dig with the spades on the hind legs, so loose, dry soil is essential.
Spadefoots have a bumpy skin but do not look as "warty" as Western Toads. (see photo) A Spadefoot sitting still on the ground looks like a large pebble, so they can go undetected by a predator.
Spadefoot habitat is dry grasslands and open woodlands near ponds. They dig their own burrows or use burrows of other animals to hibernate for the winter. In April, spadefoots gather at ponds to lay hundreds of eggs.
Likes to Eat: ...
The spadefoot toads include nine genera with over 80 species worldwide. Examples of spadefoots may be found in Europe, Asia, northern Africa, and North America (including Mexico).
The Western Spadefoot (Spea hammondii) was originally described in 1859 by Baird as Scaphiopus hammondii. See Amphibian Species of the World.
There are no currently recognized subspecies.
Pronunciation ...
Eastern Spadefoot
Description: Eastern spadefoots (Scaphiopus holbrookii) are 1.75 - 3 inches long. They have a spade-like protuberance on each hind foot for digging. Their coloration varies from gray to brown.
Spadefoots emerge to breed after intense rainfall such as heavy thunderstorms in the spring or summer.
The spadefoot toad is currently having a population explosion across Florida as millions and millions of baby toadlets are hopping about in the wake of the recent hurricanes.
Notice that I said these ecosystems were well-adapted to hurricanes.
Plains Spadefoot - Spea bombifrons (formerly Scaphiopus bombifrons)
Western Spadefoot - Spea hammondii (formerly Scaphiopus hammondii)
Great Basin Spadefoot - Spea intermontana (formerly Scaphiopus intermontana) ...
Plains Spadefoot
Spea bombifrons
Rare with only two known localities in AR. Color grayish or bluish with small, red spots. Skin moist.
Large wart-like gland located behind each eye of toads.
Australian spadefoot toads rise like zombies at the first rain.
Walking on water
Land of the Tiger ...
Varaldi's spadefoot toad (Pelobates varaldii)
ARKive is working with the Global Amphibian Assessment (GAA) to source images of the world's threatened amphibian species.The GAA is the... More 5 Images 0 videos ...
Eastern Spadefoot Toad - Scaphiopus holbrookii holbrookii
Description: 1 ¾ - 3" (4.4-7.5 cm). Sickle-shaped spade on each hind foot used for digging. Smooth skin with only a few warts. Brown to olive color.
- Spadefoot toads (family Pelobatidae) can act as amphibian weather forecasters. Before a rainstorm they come out by the hundreds to croak something that sounds like, "Rain-today, rain-today." Then people who live nearby know to expect a storm.
sagebrush 405 Black sagebrush 406 Low sagebrush 407 Stiff sagebrush 408 Other sagebrush types 412 Juniper-pinyon woodland 501 Saltbush-greasewood 504 Juniper-pinyon pine woodland 612 Sagebrush-grass PLANT COMMUNITIES : Great Basin spadefoots ...
eastern spadefoot (Scaphiopus holbrooki)
eastern tiger salamander (Ambystoma tigrinum)
four-toed salamander (Hemidactylium scutatum)
Fowler's toad (Bufo fowleri)
gray treefrog (Hyla versicolor)
greater siren (Siren lacertina) ...
For instance, spadefoot toads may hibernate during the summer (estivation) or until it rains. Cases have been documented in which spadefoot toads have remained in estivation for several years and finally emerged to breed upon heavy rainfall.
ANURA: Pelobatidae (Spadefoot Toads) Common Name Scientific Name Distribution
Eastern Spadefoot*
Scaphiopus holbrookii ...
They celebrate an awakened and refreshed community of life—including, example, amphibians such as the Spadefoot Toad, crustaceans such as the Fairy Shrimp, and salt-tolerant plants such as the Saltbrush.
Habitat destruction, especially on vernal pools, may impact wood frog populations and the populations of other amphibian, especially the eastern spadefoot toad, which is an endangered species here in Connecticut.
The spadefoot toads, burrowing toads of the family Pelobatidae, are represented in the United States by several species of the genus Scaphiopus. Toads are classified in the phylum Chordata, subphylum Vertebrata, class Amphibia, order Anura.
 See also: Toad, Spadefoot toad, Eastern Spadefoot, Salamander, Leopard
  
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