Southern toad

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Southern toad
Bufo terrestris 0.jpg
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Amphibia
Order: Anura
Family: Bufonidae
Genus: Anaxyrus
Species:
A. terrestris
Binomial name
Anaxyrus terrestris
(Bonnaterre, 1802)
Synonyms

Bufo terrestrisBonnaterre, 1789

The southern toad (Anaxyrus terrestris) is a true toad native to the southeastern United States, from eastern Louisiana and southeastern Virginia south to Florida. [2] It often lives in areas with sandy soils. It is nocturnal and spends the day in a burrow. Its coloring is usually brown but can be red, gray, or black. It is approximately 8 cm (3 inches) long.

Description

The southern toad is a medium-sized, plump species with a snout-to-vent length of up to 92 mm (3.6 in) with females being slightly larger than males. The most obvious distinguishing features are the knobs on the head and the backward-pointing spurs that extend as far as the paratoid glands. The dorsal surface is covered with warts, some of which may be spiny. The color of the head, back and sides varies from brick red to mottled grey, brown and black while the underparts are pale, sometimes with dark spots on the chest. [3]

Distribution

The southern toad is found on the coastal plain of the southeastern United States. Its range extends from southern Virginia to Florida and Louisiana and there are two isolated populations on the Piedmont plateau and the Blue Ridge Mountains in South Carolina. [1] [3] Southern toads are generalists when it comes to their habitats, since they can be found in many different areas, including fragmented landscapes, suburban areas, and many more. [4]

Behavior

The southern toad is nocturnal and lives in a burrow by day, or sometimes hides under a log or pile of debris. It occurs in woodland in cultivated land and gardens and sometimes stands beneath outdoor lights at night to pick up the attracted insects that fall to the ground. A 2006 study found that there was no difference in the number of toads found in wooded and clearcut area, but there was a difference in the survival rates which was much higher in wooded area. [5] In winter it may become inactive and remain in its burrow for extended periods. [6]

Reproduction

Breeding starts in spring when the males migrate from their upland habitats to the lowland pools, ditches, swamps and the margins of lakes where they breed. The breeding season typically occurs between the first of March into late May although it will occasionally continue up until September. [7] Heavy rain triggers large numbers of males to congregate and call, forming choruses. [6] Each female lays a clutch ranging from 1,704 to 16,537 eggs. [8] The eggs hatch and the tadpoles take 30 to 55 days to develop before undergoing metamorphosis into juvenile toads about 1 cm (0.4 in) long. The tadpoles feed on algae which they scrape from underwater vegetation. Adults are carnivorous and feed on any small invertebrates they can find. [6]

Status

The southern toad has a wide range and is common in much of that range, though it has become scarce in Florida in areas where the cane toad has become established. In general it is an adaptable species and faces no particular threats, the population seems stable and the IUCN has listed it as being of "least concern". [1] Southern toads are sometimes exploited by the pet trade. In a study on ecotoxicology, southern toad larvae were found to have delayed development in areas with high metal contamination [9] .

Related Research Articles

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The cane toad, also known as the giant neotropical toad or marine toad, is a large, terrestrial true toad native to South and mainland Central America, but which has been introduced to various islands throughout Oceania and the Caribbean, as well as Northern Australia. It is a member of the genus Rhinella, which includes many true toad species found throughout Central and South America, but it was formerly assigned to the genus Bufo.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Black toad</span> Species of amphibian

The black toad, also known as the Inyo toad or Deep Springs toad, is a true toad that lives only in scattered oases in the Deep Springs Valley of Inyo County, California. In fact, its original scientific name, Bufo exsul, means "exiled toad", which refers to its species' isolation in a tiny spot in the high desert wilderness of the Californian Great Basin.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">American toad</span> Species of amphibian

The American toad is a common species of toad found throughout Canada and the eastern United States. It is divided into three subspecies: the eastern American toad, the dwarf American toad and the rare Hudson Bay toad. Recent taxonomic treatments place this species in the genus Anaxyrus instead of Bufo.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Houston toad</span> Species of amphibian endemic to Texas, US

The Houston toad, formerly Bufo houstonensis, is an endangered species of amphibian that is endemic to Texas in the United States. This toad was discovered in the late 1940s and named in 1953. It was among the first amphibians added to the United States List of Endangered Native Fish and Wildlife and is currently protected by the Endangered Species Act of 1973 as an endangered species. The Houston toad was placed as "endangered" on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species from 1986 to 2022, and has worsened to "critically endangered" since then, with fewer than 250 mature individuals believed to remain in the wild as of 2021. Their kind is threatened every day as they continue to suffer from a loss of habitat, extreme drought, and massive wildfires. Their typical life expectancy is at least 3 years but it may exceed this number.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Western toad</span> Species of amphibian

The western toad is a large toad species, between 5.6 and 13 cm long, native to western North America. A. boreas is frequently encountered during the wet season on roads, or near water at other times. It can jump a considerable distance for a toad. Breeding occurs between March and July in mountainous areas, and as early as January in lower-elevation regions. The female lays up to 17,000 eggs stuck together in strings that adhere to vegetation and other objects along water edges.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Arroyo toad</span> Species of amphibian

The arroyo toad is a species of true toads in the family Bufonidae, endemic to California, U.S. and Baja California state, Mexico. It is currently classified as an Endangered species on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species because of habitat destruction. The arroyo toad is at the intersection of ecological significance and conservation concern.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Red-spotted toad</span> Species of amphibian

The red-spotted toad, formerly Bufo punctatus, is a toad in the family Bufonidae found in the southwestern United States and northwestern Mexico.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wyoming toad</span> Species of amphibian

The Wyoming toad, also known commonly as Baxter's toad, is a species of toad in the family Bufonidae. The Wyoming toad is an extremely rare amphibian that exists only in captivity and within Mortenson Lake National Wildlife Refuge in Wyoming in the United States. The Wyoming toad was listed as an endangered species in 1984, and listed as extinct in the wild since 1991. As with black-footed ferrets at the Tom Thorne and Beth Williams Wildlife Research Center at Sybille in Wheatland, Wyoming, the effort to save the Wyoming toad has been a cooperative effort among state and federal agencies and private landowners. The Wyoming toad was common from the 1950s through the early 1970s, but its distribution was limited to the Laramie Basin in Albany County. The population crashed around 1975 and was extremely low by 1980. The Wyoming toad was federally listed as endangered in January 1984. To prevent extinction, a captive-breeding program began in 1989 at the Thorne Williams Unit that produced enough offspring in its first few years to supply seven zoos, and in 1998 the Saratoga National Fish Hatchery received captive-breeding stock. Nearly 46,000 offspring were produced at the Thorne Williams Unit from 1995 until 2006, when the remaining captive stock was moved to the Red Buttes Environmental Biology Laboratory south of Laramie, and then released back into the wild. Before the sharp declines occurred, this toad had been originally classified as Bufo hemiophrys baxteri, a subspecies of the Canadian toad, by Kenneth Raymond Porter in 1968.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Texas toad</span> Species of amphibian

The Texas toad is a species of medium-sized toad that occurs in the southern United States and northern Mexico. It breeds in temporary water pools after heavy rains.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Woodhouse's toad</span> Species of amphibian

Woodhouse's toad is a medium-sized true toad native to the United States and Mexico. There are three recognized subspecies. A. woodhousii tends to hybridize with Anaxyrus americanus where their ranges overlap.

<i>Anaxyrus fowleri</i> Species of amphibian

Fowler's toad is a species of toad in the family Bufonidae. The species is native to North America, where it occurs in much of the eastern United States and parts of adjacent Canada. It was previously considered a subspecies of Woodhouse's toad.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Great Plains toad</span> Species of amphibian

The Great Plains toad is a relatively large species of true toad native to central North America.

<i>Gastrophryne carolinensis</i> Species of amphibian

Gastrophryne carolinensis, the eastern narrow-mouthed toad, is a species of microhylid frog. It is a relatively small, toad-like amphibian found in damp, shady habitats. The species is highly fossorial, and feeds primarily on ants. These North American microhylids are distinguished from true toads, and other anurans by their moist, smooth skin, their lack of eardrums or tympana, their distinguishable squat body shape, and the unique fold of skin superior to their eyes. It is found in the United States, from southern Maryland to the Florida Keys, west to Missouri and Texas. While not a true toad, it is so called because it is terrestrial.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Canadian toad</span> Species of amphibian

The Canadian toad, also known commonly as the Dakota toad, is a species of toad that ranges from the prairie regions of western Canada south to parts of the upper midwest of the United States. It belongs to the family Bufonidae, the "true" toads. Its specific name is derived from the Latin word hemiophrys, meaning eyebrow, which refers to its pronounced cranial crest between and behind the eyes. Anaxyrus hemiophrys displays the typical toad characteristics: it lacks a tail and teeth, it has a horizontal pupil, and its dry skin is thick and warty.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Yosemite toad</span> Species of amphibian

The Yosemite toad is a species of true toad in the family Bufonidae. Endemic to the Sierra Nevada of California, the species ranges from the Alpine County to Fresno County. Yosemite toads are only found in the montane to subalpine elevational zone of 1,950–3,445 m (6,398–11,302 ft) asl. The Yosemite toad is similar to the nearby western toad, but in many ways adapted to a high elevation lifestyle. It was initially described during the Grinnell Survey of California, by an undergraduate student of Joseph Grinnell named Charles Camp.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Arizona toad</span> Species of amphibian

The Arizona toad is a species of toad in the family Bufonidae. It is endemic to the south-western United States, where its natural habitats are temperate lowland forests, rivers and streams, swamps, freshwater marshes, freshwater springs, ponds, open excavations, irrigated land, and seasonally flooded agricultural land.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Oak toad</span> Species of amphibian

The oak toad is a species of toad in the family Bufonidae. It is endemic to the coastal regions of southeastern United States. It is regarded as the smallest species of toad in North America, with a length of 19 to 33 mm.

The Sonoran green toad is a species of toad in the family Bufonidae. It is found in northern Mexico and the southwestern United States.

<i>Bufotes</i> Genus of amphibians

Bufotes, the Eurasian green toads or Palearctic green toads, is a genus of true toads. They are native to Europe, western and central Asia and northern Africa; a region roughly equalling the western and central Palearctic. Historically they were included in the genus Bufo and then for a few years placed in Pseudepidalea, which is a synonym of the currently accepted name Bufotes.

The Hot Creek toad is a species of toad in the family Bufonidae. It is endemic to Nye County in the state of Nevada in the United States.

References

  1. 1 2 3 IUCN SSC Amphibian Specialist Group (2021). "Anaxyrus terrestris". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species . 2021: e.T54777A56952850. doi: 10.2305/IUCN.UK.2021-3.RLTS.T54777A56952850.en . Retrieved 21 May 2023.
  2. Frost, Darrel R. (2014). "Anaxyrus terrestris (Bonnaterre, 1789)". Amphibian Species of the World: an Online Reference. Version 6.0. American Museum of Natural History. Retrieved 17 September 2014.
  3. 1 2 Egeler, J. (2000). ""Anaxyrus terrestris": Southern toad". Animal Diversity Web. Retrieved 2014-09-11.
  4. Todd, Brian D.; Rothermel, Betsie B. (November 2006). "Assessing quality of clearcut habitats for amphibians: Effects on abundances versus vital rates in the southern toad (Bufo terrestris)". Biological Conservation. 133 (2): 178–185. doi:10.1016/j.biocon.2006.06.003. ISSN   0006-3207.
  5. Todd; Rothermel, B. B. (2006). "Assessing quality of clearcut habitats for amphibians: Effects on abundances versus vital rates in the southern toad (Bufo terrestris)". Biological Conservation. 133 (2): 178–185. doi:10.1016/j.biocon.2006.06.003.
  6. 1 2 3 Jensen, John B. "Anaxyrus terrestris". AmphibiaWeb. Retrieved 2014-09-11.
  7. Wright, Albert Hazen; Anna Allen Wright (1949). Handbook of frogs and toads of the United States and Canada (3rd ed.). Ithaca, NY: Comstock. ISBN   0-8014-0462-2. OCLC   500667773.
  8. Mitchell, Joseph C.; Pague, Christopher A. (2014). "FILLING GAPS IN LIFE-HISTORY DATA: CLUTCH SIZES FOR 21 SPECIES OF NORTH AMERICAN ANURANS" (PDF). Herpetological Conservation and Biology. 9 (3): 495–501.
  9. Rumrill, C. T., Scott, D. E., & Lance, S. L. (2016). Effects of metal and predator stressors in larval southern toads (Anaxyrus terrestris). Ecotoxicology, 25, 1278-1286

Further reading