turtles lizards snakes
frogs
Reptiles of the United States  
  Home Email Site map
A Guide to the Reptiles &
Amphibians of the United States
Home snakes lizards Turtles turtles salamanders
Snakes of the U.S.
UDG-Banner (55K)
 



California Toad Range Map






California Toad Video




California Toad Voice speaker (13K)

Home »» Frogs & Toads »» Bufonidae (Toads) »» Western Toads »» California Toad (Anaxyrus boreas halophilus)


California Toad (Anaxyrus boreas halophilus)species of least concern





Description: The California toad is less blotched (reduced dorsal melanin) than the boreal toad. It has a wider head, larger eyes, smaller feet, and a weaker development of the margins along the dorsal stripe. The largest western toad larvae at 2.2 inches is also of the California toad. The toad has a wide range of dorsal coloration, from light gray to green to dull black; most however are brownish gray. The California toad, as a western toad, walks rather than hops. The adult size range is two to five inches.


Habitat: The habitats for the California toad range from woodland, grassland, and meadows in forest areas to backyards and parks in the suburbs. It breeds in lakes, creeks, ponds, reservoirs, slowly flowing streams, and canals.


Range: The California toad occurs from all of Northern California and down south into Baja California. There are scattered populations in isolated desert areas, such as in the Mojave Desert, but they generally do not occur in the desert areas from Death Valley southward.


Found in these States: CA | NV


Diet: it feeds on a wide variety of insects and invertebrates. Its diet includes grasshoppers, beetles, flies, and mosquitos.


Reproduction: The California toad breeds from January to July, with later spawning occurring at higher elevations. Many populations are aggregation breeders that come to suitable marsh or pond spawning sites in large numbers. Here males recognize females through random amplexus. Eggs number over 16,000 per female and are laid in strings in shallow water.


Status: The western toad occupies a variety of habitats and is presently listed as a species of least concern. Nonetheless, concerns remain about the impact of disease and chemical contamination of the environment, especially chytridiomycosis. One of the chief chemical threats is the overuse of urea as fertilizer, which is often applied in high dosage to forest environments to increase biomass productivity and economic return. A. boreas is harmed by the dermal absorption of this chemical, which can lead to increased mortality.


Taxonomy:

»» Kingdom: Animalia - Animals
   »» Phylum: Chordata - Chordates
     »» Subphylum: Vertebrata - Vertebrates
       »» Class: Amphibia - Amphibians
         »» Order: Anura - Frogs & Toads
           »» Family: Bufonidae - Toads
             »» Genus: Anaxyrus
               »» Species: Anaxyrus boreas - Western Toad
                 »» Subspecies: California Toad (Anaxyrus boreas halophilus)

This article uses material from the Wikipedia article "California Toad", 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.

 

 

 

 


Recommended Books at Amazon.com


Frogs and Toads of the World     Frogs and Toads (A Golden Guide from St. Martin's Press)     Frog or Toad?: How Do You Know? (Which Animal Is Which?)     National Geographic Readers: Frogs!



DISCLAIMER: We are a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for us to earn advertising fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated websites.

 

 
 

Disclaimer: ITIS taxonomy is based on the latest scientific consensus available, and is provided as a general reference source for interested parties. However, it is not a legal authority for statutory or regulatory purposes. While every effort has been made to provide the most reliable and up-to-date information available, ultimate legal requirements with respect to species are contained in provisions of treaties to which the United States is a party, wildlife statutes, regulations, and any applicable notices that have been published in the Federal Register. For further information on U.S. legal requirements with respect to protected taxa, please contact the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

 
Copyright © 2008 - Herpedia™.com