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Home »» Frogs & Toads »» Bufonidae (Toads) »» Dixie Valley Toad (Anaxyrus williamsi)


Dixie Valley Toad (Anaxyrus williamsi)Endangered Species





It was formerly considered an isolated population of the common western toad (A. boreas) until physical and genetic analyses found it to be a separate species, and described it as such in 2017. It is descended from an ancestor that inhabited the large lakes and wetlands that covered the Great Basin in the Pleistocene until the receding water isolated the different populations, leading to speciation.


Description: It can be physically distinguished from the western toad by the scattered gold-colored flecks that cover its olive body, and is also the smallest member of the A. boreas species complex in the region.


Habitat: They are a nocturnal species, living under rocks or burrowed in the dirt during the day. The Dixie Valley toad is only found in a small complex of vegetated spring-fed marshlands in Dixie Valley, one of the hottest and geothermally active systems in the region. The surrounding areas are largely arid land with little aquatic resources, isolating A. williamsi from the rest of the world.


Range: The sole population of Dixie Valley toad lives in a hot spring-fed wetland in the Dixie Valley, northwest of Fallon, Nevada.


Found in these States: NV


Diet: Invertivore


Reproduction: Reproduction is external. The males will call to attract females. Once the female selects a male, the male will grsap her from behind. The female will then lay her eggs and the male will fertilize them. No parental care has bee shown.


Status: Critically Imperiled in Nevada. NOTE: Just listed as temporariy Endangered on 4/7/2022 See Temporay Rule


Subspecies: None


Taxonomy:

»» Kingdom: Animalia - Animals
   »» Phylum: Chordata - Chordates
     »» Subphylum: Vertebrata - Vertebrates
       »» Class: Amphibia - Amphibians
         »» Order: Anura - Frogs & Toads
           »» Family: Bufonidae - Toads
             »» Genus: Anaxyrus
               »» Species: Anaxyrus williamsi - Dixie Valley Toad

This article uses material from the Wikipedia article "Dixie Valley 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.

 

 

 

 


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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!



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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.

 
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