Southwestern Woodhouse's Toad (Anaxyrus woodhousii australis)
Description: Woodhouse's toad is a robust amphibian and can grow to a maximum snout-vent length of 5 inches. The head has prominent cranial crests in front of and in between the eyes. The parotoid glands are long and large. The dorsal surface of this toad is grayish-brown or yellowish-brown and it is speckled with small dark spots. There is a narrow pale line running along the spine. The belly is rather paler and is usually unspotted. The male has a single vocal sac on his throat. His call resembles the bleat of a sheep and lasts from one to three seconds.
Habitat: Woodhouse's toads inhabit grasslands, desert and semi-desert shrublands, river valleys and floodplains, and agricultural areas, usually in areas with deep friable soils. When inactive, they burrow underground or hide under rocks, plants, or other cover. These toads live on land except during the brief breeding season. Breeding occurs in marshes, rain pools, ponds, lakes, reservoirs, flooded areas, stream pools or backwaters, and other bodies of water with a shallow margin lacking a strong current, including both permanent and temporary pools, generally in sites with few if any fishes.
Range: This abundant amphibian ranges from the Dakotas and Montana to central Texas, then west of the Rocky Mts. from northern Utah to Central Arizona. Disjunct colonies can be found in several states.
Diet: Metamorphosed toads eat mainly various small terrestrial arthropods. Larvae eat suspended matter, organic debris, algae, and plant tissue.
Reproduction: Breeding occurs in spring or summer, generally after rains. Several dozen adults may aggregate for breeding. Breeding choruses may last a few weeks. Females deposit a clutch of up to 25,000 eggs in long strings. Larvae metamorphose into tiny toadlets within 1-2 months. Individuals become sexually mature usually in 2-3 years.
Status: Woodhouse's toad has a very wide range and presumed large total population. It is able to live in a number of types of habitat and can tolerate some modification to its habitat. In central Arizona it seems to be displacing the Arizona toad (Anaxyrus microscaphus).
»» Kingdom: Animalia - Animals
»» Phylum: Chordata - Chordates
»» Subphylum: Vertebrata - Vertebrates
»» Class: Amphibia - Amphibians
»» Order: Anura - Frogs & Toads
»» Family: Bufonidae - Toads
»» Genus: Anaxyrus
»» Species: Anaxyrus woodhousii - Woodhbouse's Toad
»» Subspecies: Southwestern Woodhouse's Toad ( Anaxyrus woodhousii australis)
This article uses material from the Wikipedia article "ANIMAL", which is released under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share-Alike License 3.0. Content may have been omitted from the original, but no content has been changed or extended.
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