Range in California: Red
Listen to this spadefoot:
A short example
More sounds of
Scaphiopus couchii
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Adult, Imperial County
© August 2004 William Flaxington |
Adult, Imperial County
© August 2004 William Flaxington |
Adult, Cochise County, Arizona |
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Adult female, Pima County, Arizona |
Adult male, Yuma County, Arizona |
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| Adult Male (top) in amplexus with Adult Female (bottom), Brewster County, Texas |
Adult male calling at night while floating on water, Brewster County, Texas |
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Male and female in amplexus, and single male, Pima County, Arizona |
Male and female in amplexus, Pima County, Arizona |
Male and female in amplexus, Pima County, Arizona |
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Eggs laid on grass in shallow water |
Recently-hatched tadpole, Yuma County, Arizona |
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Digging spades on hind feet |
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Habitat, breeding pools in agricultural field, Yuma County, Arizona |
Short Videos |
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Male spadefoots call at night from a temporary rain pool.
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Male and female spadefoots in amplexus in a temporary rain pool. |
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Description |
| Size |
| Adults are 2 1/4 - 3 3/5 inches long from snout to vent (5.7 - 9.1 cm). |
| Appearance |
Variable in color and pattern, from greenish or brownish yellow to bright green
above, with a network of irregular dark markings, or black flecking. Males tend to be greener than females with fewer
markings. Whitish below. Wide-set eyes with no boss inbetween. Hard black spade on each hind foot is shaped like a sickle.
Tadpoles are an irridescent coppery bronze with golden spots or sheen, growing up to 1.8 - 2.4 cm. in length. No parotoid glands. |
| Voice (Listen) |
| A nasal groan descending in pitch similar to a lamb bleating. Calls at night from the edge of temporary ponds. |
| Behavior |
Nocturnal. Terrestrial - spending most of its life buried in the ground, emerging briefly only during spring and summer rains to
feed and breed. S. couchii is more adapted to extremely dry conditions than any other North American amphibian,
sometimes not emerging after as many as two rainless summers. Spades on hind feet assist in digging soil.
Low frequency sounds and vibrations caused by rainfall and thunder apparently stimulate emergence from the soil, rather
than soil saturation.
Irritating skin secretions can cause sneezing, running nose, watery eyes, and even burning of the eyes bad enough to cause temporary blindness. (Wash your hands very well after handling this spadefoot!) |
| Diet |
| Eats invertebrates, the bulk of which are termites which also emerge during rains. S. couchii can eat enough in one meal to last a full year, often consuming up to 55 percent of its body weight. 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 |
Breeds explosively during scarce rainfall from May through September in temporary puddles. Most breeding occurs during
the first night after puddles form. Fertilization is external. Eggs hatch in less than a day, and tadpoles transform faster than any other North Americananurans - in about 7 days. This accellerated development of eggs and larvae due to the temporary nature of its breeding pools and activity period is typical of spadefoots. |
| Range |
Ranges from central Texas and southwest Oklahoma, through northcentral New Mexico and southcentral Arizona, south to
the tip of the Baja peninsula, west to extreme southeast California. In California, this spadefoot occurs in scattered populations east of the Algodones sand dunes in Imperial county, north into San Bernardino county. From sea level to 5900 ft. elevation (1800 m). |
| Habitat |
| Desert and arid regions of grassland, prairie, mesquite, creosote bush, thorn forest, sandy washes. |
| Conservation Issues (Conservation Status) |
| S. couchii continues to persist throughout its small range in California despite habitat modification by agriculture. |
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Taxonomy |
| Family |
Pelobatidae |
Spadefoot Toads and Relatives |
| Genus |
Scaphiopus |
North American Spadefoots |
| Species |
couchii |
Couch's Spadefoot
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Original Description |
Baird, 1854 - Proc. Acad. Nat. Sci. Philadelphia, Vol. 7, p. 62
from Original Description Citations for the Reptiles and Amphibians of North America © Ellin Beltz
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Meaning of the Scientific Name |
Scaphiopus - Greek - skaphis - shovel or spade and Greek - pous - foot - refers to the shape and adaptation of hind foot for digging
couchii - honors Couch, Darius N.
from Scientific and Common Names of the Reptiles and Amphibians of North America - Explained © Ellin Beltz
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Alternate Names |
None
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Related or Similar California Frogs |
Spea hammondii
Spea intermontana
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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.
Degenhardt, William G., Charles W. Painter, & Andrew H. Price. Amphibians and Reptiles of New Mexico. University of New Mexico Press, 1996.
Williamson, Michael A., Paul W. Hyder, & John S. Applegarth. Snakes, Lizards, Turtles, Frogs, Toads & Salamanders of New Mexico. Sunstone Press, 1994.
Lang Elliott, Carl Gerhardt, and Carlos Davidson. Frogs and Toads of North America, a Comprehensive Guide to their Identification, Behavior, and Calls. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2009.
Wright, Anna. Handbook of Frogs and Toads of the United States and Canada. Cornell University Press, 1949.
Lannoo, Michael (Editor). Amphibian Declines: The Conservation Status of United States Species. University of California Press, June 2005.
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.
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Organization
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Status Listing
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| U.S. Endangered Species Act (ESA) |
None |
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| California Endangered Species Act (CESA) |
None |
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| California Department of Fish and Game |
DFG:SSC |
California Species of Special Concern |
| Bureau of Land Management |
BLM:S |
Sensitive |
| USDA Forest Service |
None |
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| Natureserve Global Conservation Status Ranks |
G5 |
Secure |
World Conservation Union - IUCN Red List
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IUCN:LC |
Least Concern |
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