Red-spotted Toad

Taxobox
name = Red-spotted toad
status = LC | status_system = IUCN3.1
trend = stable


image_width = 240px
regnum = Animalia
phylum = Chordata
classis = Amphibia
ordo = Anura
familia = Bufonidae
genus = "Bufo"
species = "B. punctatus"
binomial = "Bufo punctatus"
binomial_authority = Baird & Girard, 1852
synonyms = "Anaxyrus punctatus"

The Red-spotted toad ("Bufo punctatus") is a small toad species growing to 3.7 to 7.5 centimeters 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. Its snout is pointed.

The juvenile 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.

This toad is native to the southwestern United States and northwestern Mexico, especially Baja California. 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. Eggs hatch in three days and the tadpole can transform in 6-8 weeks, taking advantage of the ephemeral water bodies. It spends dry periods in burrows or beneath rocks or moist plant matter, and becomes suddenly active during rainfall when multitudes of individuals emerge. [Grismer, L. L. (2002). "Amphibians and Reptiles of Baja California." Los Angeles: University of California Press, 71.]

It may hybridize with the western toad ("Bufo boreas") in some locations, although this needs confirmation. It is docile and easily handled with little or no skin gland secretions.

References

* (2004) The history of a Nearctic colonization: Molecular phylogenetics and biogeography of the Nearctic toads ("Bufo"). "Evolution" "58": 2517–2535.
* Database entry includes a range map and a brief justification of why this species is of least concern
* This article is based on a description from "A Field Guide to the Reptiles and Amphibians of Coastal Southern California", Robert N. Fisher and Ted J. Case, USGS, http://www.werc.usgs.gov/fieldguide/index.htm.