Red-Spotted Toad (Anaxyrus punctactus)
Description: It is a small toad species growing to 1.5 to 3.0 inches in length. It has a flattened head and body, and a light grey, olive or reddish brown dorsum with reddish or orange skin glands. It has a whitish or buff venter with or without faint dark spotting, and round parotoid glands. The snout is pointed. The juvenile toad looks similar to the adult, but has more prominent ventral spotting and the undersides of its feet are yellow. The male red-spotted toad has a dusky throat and develops nuptial pads during the breeding season.
It may hybridize with the western toad (Anaxyrus boreas) in some locations, possibly with other toad species too. It is docile and easily handled with little or no skin gland secretions.
Habitat: It occurs primarily along rocky streams and riverbeds, often in arid or semi-arid regions. It is very localized on the coastal slope, but widespread in the deserts. In dry areas it needs seasonal pools or even temporary rain puddles to use for breeding. It spends dry periods in burrows or beneath rocks or moist plant matter, and becomes suddenly active during rainfall when multitudes of individuals emerge.
Range: This toad is native to the southwestern United States and northwestern Mexico, especially Baja California.
Diet: Ants, bees and beetles and various arthropods make up the red-spotted toad's primary diet. Arthropods include spiders and any insects with segmented bodies. While these toads generally dwell in arid, rocky areas, they breed in streams and stock ponds and puddles. Any insect in those vicinities is potential prey.
Reproduction: Eggs hatch in three days and the tadpole can transform in 6 to 8 weeks, taking advantage of the ephemeral water bodies.
Status: Globally classifed as species of least concern. In Arizona, California, Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico, Texas, & Utah classified as secure or appraently secure. In Kansas classified as Imperiled. And in Oklahoma classified as Vulnerable.
Subspecies: None
»» Kingdom: Animalia - Animals
»» Phylum: Chordata - Chordates
»» Subphylum: Vertebrata - Vertebrates
»» Class: Amphibia - Amphibians
»» Order: Anura - Frogs & Toads
»» Family: Bufonidae - Toads
»» Genus: Anaxyrus
»» Species: Anaxyrus punctactus - Red-Spotted Toad
This article uses material from the Wikipedia article "Red-Spotted 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.
|
){kind=link}