Mazatlan Narrow-Mouthed Toad (Gastrophryne mazatlanensis)
Description: The Mazatlan Narrow-Mouthed Toad rarely reached 1 5/8 inches. Smooth, wartless skin, plump shape with short limbs, narrow pointed head and a pointed fold of loose skin behind the eyes helpake this one of Arizona's most distinct amphibians. Color dorsally ranges from light gray to light brown, with indiscriminant black spotting with mottling along the legs. Faint spots of white can also be present. Sexually mature males have a dark throat patcha dn vocal sac.
Habitat: It occurs in three distinct habitat types: Madrean evergreen ewoodland, semi-desert grassland, and Sonoran Desrrt
Range: South-central Arizona and southwestern New Mexico (USA) to Nayarit (Mexico) along the coastal plain.
Found in these States:
AZ
Diet: Mostly ants. This species has evolved a toxic skin secretion that may protect it from ant bites, since it tends to sit on anthills while eating its preferred food.
Status: The relative abundance of this species in Arizona is poorly known. Observations indicate this anphibian mnay be expanding its range. However, this conclusion is tentative due to the smnall size, secretive habits and lack of thorough disrtributional study.
This species was recognized as distinct from Gastrophryne olivacea in 2012 so trend data are not available. However, G. olivacea is considered stable by IUCN and G. maztlanensis has 74 observations from the period 2007-2021
»» Kingdom: Animalia - Animals
»» Phylum: Chordata - Chordates
»» Subphylum: Vertebrata - Vertebrates
»» Class: Amphibia - Amphibians
»» Order: Anura - Frogs & Toads
»» Family: Microhylidae - Narrow-Mouthed Toads
»» Genus: Gastrophryne
»» Species: Gastrophryne mazatlanensis - >Mazatlan Narrow-Mouthed Toad
This article uses material from the NatureServe "Gastrophryne mazatlanensis", 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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