California Reptiles & Amphibians

Bufo boreas halophilus - California Toad

(=Anaxyrus boreas halophilus - Southern California Toad)

Click on a picture for a larger view

Range in California: Red

Click the map for a guide
to the other subspecies.

Listen to this toad:

One short call

More sounds of
Bufo boreas halophilus

Adult, Riverside County

Adult, San Diego County

Sub-adult, Stanislaus County

Adult, Riverside County

Adult, Stanislaus County

Adult from Afton Canyon, San Bernardino County

Adult, Darwin Falls, Inyo County

Adult, San Diego County

Adult, possible intergrade with
B. b. boreas, Shasta County

Toads usually move by walking or crawling, while true frogs typically hop.

Close-up showing large oval parotoid
glands behind the eyes.

Adult, Riverside County

Sub-adult, Stanislaus County - showing bright pads on bottom of feet.

Congregation of breeding adults, February, Contra Costa County
© Joyce Gross

Amplexing adults, Kern County
© Henk Wallays

Adults in amplexus , Orange County
© Jason Jones

Egg strings, Orange County,
© Jason Jones

Tadpoles in breeding pond,
Contra Costa County

Tadpole in water

Mature tadpole with hind legs, in water

Mature tadpole with four legs, in water

Metamorph with some tail remaining

After transforming, thousands of metamorphs can often be found around the banks of breeding ponds. These were seen on the banks of the pond in the first picture in the following row.

Fully metamorphosed toadlet

Habitat, Afton Canyon, San Bernardino County

Habitat, Darwin Falls, Inyo County

Habitat, cattle pond in oak grassland, 1,400 ft., Contra
Costa County

Desert riparian habitat, San Diego County

Habitat, pond in Sierra Nevadas, 4,500 ft., Kern County

Habitat, Central Valley Grasslands, Merced County

Habitat, small creek in Coast Range foothills, 500 ft., Stanislaus County

Habitat, 2,000 ft., Santa Rosa Plateau, Riverside County

Short Video

This toad moves across the wet ground both by crawling and by hopping.

Description

Size

Adults are 2 - 5 inches from snout to vent ( 5.1 - 12.7 cm).

Appearance

Large and robust with dry, warty skin. No cranial crests. Oval parotoid glands. Tarsal fold is well-developed. Pupils are horizontal. Greenish, tan, reddish brown, dusky gray, and yellow above. Light-colored stripe down the middle of the back. Warts are often rusty and set on dark blotches. Fewer dark blotches on belly than B. b. boreas. Males are usually less blotched than females and have smoother skin. Male and female throats are pale. Moves by walking, instead of hopping. Young have no dorsal stripe immediately after transformation.

Voice (Listen)

The call of the California Toad is a high -pitched plinking sound, like the peeping of a chick. A group of males calling has been compared to the sound of a distant flock of geese. Calls are given at night and during the day. Some herpetologists consider this sound a release call or encounter call, which is produced when males come into close contact, rather than an advertisement call, which is produced by a solo male in order to attract a female.

Behavior

Active at night, remaining underground in the daytime, but occasionally seen moving about in daylight or resting at the edge of breeding pools in the breeding season. Parotoid glands and warts can secrete a poison to deter some predators. Others are immune, and will consume toads.

Diet

Diet consists of a wide variety of invertebrates. Typical of most frogs, the prey is located by vision, then a large sticky tongue is used to catch the prey and bring it into the mouth to eat.

Reproduction

Mating and egg-laying occurs from January to early July, depending on elevation, in still pools, ponds, or at the shallow edges of lakes. Fertilization is external. Eggs are laid in two long strings and hatch in 3 to 10 days. Tadpoles can often be seen in large schools. Tadpoles are dark brown, growing to about 1 inch before metamorphosing in late summer or early fall. Large numbers of metamorph toads can usually be seen in late summer along the shore.

Range

Ranges from across northcentral California into west central Nevada, south, east of the deserts, into Baja California. Not present in most of the central high Sierra Nevada mountains where B. canorus is present, except south of Kaiser Pass, Fresno county. Isolated desert populations include Afton Canyon, Darwin Falls, Grapevine Canyon, the Newberry Mountains, and California City, where the toads were probably introduced.

Habitat

Inhabits a variety of habitats - marshes, springs, creeks, small lakes, meadows, woodlands, forests, desert riparian areas.
From sea level to over 11,800 ft. (3,600 m.)

Taxonomic Notes

Two subspecies of Bufo boreas are recognized, B. b. halophilus, and B. b. boreas.
This toad has been renamed Anaxyrus boreas halophilus - Southern California Toad, but this nomenclature is not yet standard.

Conservation Issues (Conservation Status)

B. boreas is becoming uncommon in many areas of the Pacific Northwest, the Rocky Mountains and other areas, probably due to environmental changes caused by habitat loss, especially the loss of wetlands.

Taxonomy
Family	Bufonidae	True Toads
Genus	Bufo	True Toads
Species	boreas	Western Toad
Subspecies	halophilus	California Toad
Original Description
Bufo boreas Baird and Girard, 1852 - Proc. Acad. Nat. Sci. Philadelphia, Vol. 6, p. 174 Bufo boreas halophilus Baird and Girard, 1853 California Toad from Original Description Citations for the Reptiles and Amphibians of North America © Ellin Beltz
Meaning of the Scientific Name
Bufo - Toad Boreas - Greek meaning north wind or northern - which refers to the northern range Halos - Greek - sea, salt Philos - Greek - having an affinity for - refers to its coastal distribution from Scientific and Common Names of the Reptiles and Amphibians of North America - Explained © Ellin Beltz
Alternate Names
Anaxyrus boreas halophilus - Southern California Toad
Related or Similar California Frogs
Bufo boreas boreas Bufo californicus Bufo woodhousii Bufo canorus Bufo exsul
More Information and References
Natureserve Explorer California Dept. of Fish and Game AmphibiaWeb Stebbins, Robert C. A Field Guide to Western Reptiles and Amphibians. 3rd Edition. Houghton Mifflin Company, 2003. Behler, John L., & F. Wayne King. The Audubon Society Field Guide to North American Reptiles and Amphibians. Alfred A. Knopf, 1992. Davidson, Carlos. Booklet to the CD Frog and Toad Calls of the Pacific Coast - Vanishing Voices. Cornell Laboratory of Ornithology, 1995.

Conservation Status
The following status listings come from the Special Animals List which is published several times each year by the California Department of Fish and Game. This toad is not on the Special Animals List. There are no significant conservation concerns for it in California.`
Organization	Status Listing
U.S. Endangered Species Act (ESA)
California Endangered Species Act (CESA)
California Department of Fish and Game
Bureau of Land Management
USDA Forest Service
Natureserve Global Conservation Status Ranks
World Conservation Union - IUCN Red List