Hurter's Spadefoot (Scaphiopus hurterii)
Hurter's spadefoot toad or Hurter's spadefoot (Scaphiopus hurteri) is a species of American spadefoot toad (family Scaphiopodidae) It was once classified as a subspecies of the eastern spadefoot toad (Scaphiopus holbrookii), but it has been granted its own species status.
Description: The only spadefoot toad in our region with a boss slightly behind the eyes. An elongated sickle shaped spade will be present on each hind leg of the frog which allows it to burrow into loose soil. The pupils of the frog will be vertical rather than horizontal like most toads, a feature unique to spadefoots. Coloration is generally similar to the camouflage pattern of the United States Marines
Habitat: The species occurs in areas of sandy, gravelly, or soft, light soils in wooded or unwooded terrain and in sandy open woodland and savanna as well as in mesquite scrub. During periods inactivity it burrows underground. Breeding takes place in temporary pools formed by heavy rains.
Range: It is found in the south central United States (Texas, Louisiana, Arkansas, Oklahoma); its range might extend to the adjacent northern Mexico.
Found in these States:
AR |
LA |
OK |
TX |
Diet: Metamorphosed toads eat various small terrestrial invertebrates. Larvae eat plankton initially, later small aquatic invertebrates and sometimes other amphibian larvae, including conspecifics.
Reproduction: Lays clutch of up to about 2500 eggs (in several batches) after heavy spring or summer rains. Eggs hatch in 2 days to 2 weeks. Aquatic larvae metamorphose into terrestrial form in 2 to 8 weeks.
Status: While Globally it is classified as "Species of Least Concern", in Arkansas & Oklahoma it is classified as Imperiled and in Louisiana it is classified as Vulnerable.
»» Kingdom: Animalia - Animals
»» Phylum: Chordata - Chordates
»» Subphylum: Vertebrata - Vertebrates
»» Class: Amphibia - Amphibians
»» Order: Anura - Frogs & Toads
»» Family: Scaphiopodidae - American Spadefoot Toads
»» Genus: Scaphiopus
»» Species: Scaphiopus hurterii - Hurter's Spadefoot
This article uses material from the Wikipedia article "Hurter's Spadefoot 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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