Great Plains Toad

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  • Wyoming’s Amphibians 

    • Northern Leopard Frog (Lithobates pipiens)

    • Wood Frog (Lithobates sylvaticus)

    • Columbia Spotted Frog (Rana luteiventris)

    • Boreal Chorus Frog (Pseudacris maculata)

    • American Bullfrog (Lithobates catesbeianus)

    • Wyoming Toad (Anaxyrus baxteri)

    • Western (Boreal) Toad (Anaxyrus boreas)

    • Rocky Mountain (Woodhouse’s) Toad (Anaxyrus woodhousii)

    • Great Plains Toad (Anaxyrus cognatus)

    • Plains Spadefoot (Spea bombifrons)

    • Great Basin Spadefoot (Spea intermontana)

    • Western Tiger Salamander (Ambystoma mavortium)

  • Calls of Wyoming's Frogs & Toads

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IDENTIFICATION

• Size: ~3/4 inch (metamorph) to ~5 inches (adult)
• Dorsal color: tan to brown or olive
• Oftentimes symmetrical large greenish-black blotches surrounded by pale rings
• Dorsum covered with small warts
• Ventral color: cream or white with no spots
• V-shaped cranial crests that join to form a lump (boss) above the snout (may be absent or weak in juveniles; see below for an image)

• Mp3 of call (courtesy of Gary Nafis, californiaherps.com; contact Gary for permission to post on other websites)

Photo by Wyoming Natural Diversity Database; Sketch by Wyoming Game and Fish Department

 

EGGS & TADPOLES

• Eggs in strings; outer jelly of string is scalloped, making eggs look like beads on a string
• Uniformly dark black tadpoles with anal vent on midline
• Tadpole eyes are medial

 

BREEDING HABITAT

Lower elevation temporary pools, ponds, and potholes, but occasionally permanent ponds and backwater or pooled areas of streams.

Photo by Wyoming Natural Diversity Database

 

NATIVE RANGE

Map by Wyoming Natural Diversity Database