Description: The Rocky Mountain toad or western Woodhouse's toad (Anaxyrus woodhousii woodhousii) can be identified by its light middorsal stripe, prominent cranial crests, and elongate parotoid glands. The belly is usually white or yellowish with dark flecks between the forelegs.
Habitat: Woodhouse's toads inhabit grasslands, desert and semi-desert shrublands, river valleys and floodplains, and agricultural areas, usually in areas with deep friable soils. When inactive, they burrow underground or hide under rocks, plants, or other cover. These toads live on land except during the brief breeding season. Breeding occurs in marshes, rain pools, ponds, lakes, reservoirs, flooded areas, stream pools or backwaters, and other bodies of water with a shallow margin lacking a strong current, including both permanent and temporary pools, generally in sites with few if any fishes.
Range: This abundant amphibian ranges from the Dakotas and Montana to central Texas, then west of the Rocky Mts. from northern Utah to Central Arizona. Disjunct colonies can be found in several states.
Diet: Metamorphosed toads eat mainly various small terrestrial arthropods. Larvae eat suspended matter, organic debris, algae, and plant tissue.
Reproduction: Breeding occurs in spring or summer, generally after rains. Several dozen adults may aggregate for breeding. Breeding choruses may last a few weeks. Females deposit a clutch of up to 25,000 eggs in long strings. Larvae metamorphose into tiny toadlets within 1-2 months. Individuals become sexually mature usually in 2-3 years.
Status: Woodhouse's toad has a very wide range and presumed large total population. It is able to live in a number of types of habitat and can tolerate some modification to its habitat. In central Arizona it seems to be displacing the Arizona toad (Anaxyrus microscaphus).
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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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