Plains Spadefoot Toad (Scaphiopus bombifrons)

Adult Size: 1½" to 2½"

Description: A stout bodied toad with a round- to wedge-shaped spade on the hind feet and a prominent bony bump between the eyes. The exteranl eardrum is apparent and the skin is relatively smooth with scattered tubercles. Coloration is gray to brown, often with overtones of green and the tubercles are orange. Usually light stripes on the back are vaguely discernible. The underside is white. Males have a bluish-gray throat and sides.

Voice: A dissonat grating not given at 1 second intervals, sometimes a hoarse trill lasting 12 second.

Habitat: Shortgrass prairie where soil is loose and dry, and rainfall is low. Likes sandy and gravelly soil.

Breeding: May to August, stimulated by rain. Egg masses of 10 to 200 are attached to submerged vegetation in shallow ponds, and they hatch within 48 hours. Tadpoles transform within 2 months.

Range: The Great Plains from southern Alberta and Saskatchewan southeast through Montana to Missouri and central Oklahoma, south through western Texas and eastern Arizona and into Mexico. A separate population in extreme southern Texas.

Diet: Tadpoles are omnivorous.

Behavior: Nocturnal. A single sharp-edged spade on the inside of each hind foot pushes aside soil as the Spadefoot backs into the ground. Burrows may be a few inches to several feet long. They remain sopen but are difficult to locate in sandy soil. Occasionally, sticky matter is seen at the entrance, probably to cement the soil in place and prevent a burrow collapse.

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Conservation Status:

Additonal Notes:

Subspecies: None