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Adult, Riverside County |
Adult, San Diego County |
Sub-adult, Stanislaus County |
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Adult, Riverside County |
Adult, Stanislaus County |
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Adult from Afton Canyon, San Bernardino County |
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Adult, Darwin Falls, Inyo County |
Adult, San Diego County |
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Toads usually move by walking or crawling, while true frogs typically hop. |
Close-up showing large oval parotoid
glands behind the eyes. |
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Adult, Riverside County |
Sub-adult, Stanislaus County - showing bright pads on bottom of feet. |
Congregation of breeding adults, February, Contra Costa County
© Joyce Gross |
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Tadpoles in breeding pond,
Contra Costa County |
Tadpole in water |
Tadpole in water |
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Tadpole in water |
Mature tadpole with hind legs, in water |
Mature tadpole with four legs, in water |
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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.
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Fully metamorphosed toadlet |
Habitat, Afton Canyon, San Bernardino County |
Habitat, Darwin Falls, Inyo County |
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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 |
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Habitat, Central Valley Grasslands, Merced County
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Habitat, small creek in Coast Range foothills, 500 ft., Stanislaus County
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Habitat, 2,000 ft., Santa Rosa Plateau, Riverside County |
Short Video |
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This toad moves across the wet ground both by crawling and by hopping. |
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Description |
| Size |
Adults are 2 - 5 inches from snout to vent ( 5.1 - 12.7 cm).
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| 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. |
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| Taxonomy |
| Family |
Bufonidae |
True Toads |
| Genus |
Bufo |
True Toads |
| Species |
boreas |
Western Toad |
| Subspecies |
halophilus |
California Toad
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| 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
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| 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
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| Alternate Names |
Anaxyrus boreas halophilus - Southern California Toad
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| Related or Similar California Frogs |
Bufo boreas boreas
Bufo californicus
Bufo woodhousii
Bufo canorus
Bufo exsul
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| 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. |
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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.`
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Organization
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Status Listing
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| U.S. Endangered Species Act (ESA) |
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| California Endangered Species Act (CESA) |
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| California Department of Fish and Game |
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| Bureau of Land Management |
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| USDA Forest Service |
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| Natureserve Global Conservation Status Ranks |
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World Conservation Union - IUCN Red List
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