Identifying Toads in California

Some toads in California have a very limited range. You can easily rule them out if you didn't find the toad you want to identify in a specific area. Check the range maps to see if a toad is found in your area. If not, continue down the list.

You may want to try using a California Toad Key I have made which tries to categorize the toads based on whether or not they have a stripe on the back (Dorsolateral Stripe) and raised crests on the head (Cranial Crests.)

Sonoran Desert Toad

The Sonoran Desert Toad once occured in parts of the Imperial Valley and along the Colorado River. It seems to have totally disappeared from California. If you find one in California, let me or somebody know! It is characterized by large long parotoid glands, a cranial crest, a lack of a dorsal stripe, and large white warts behind the eye and on top of the rear thigh. It is generally green or olive in color without very dark spots or blotches. It would occur along with Rocky Mountain Toads, Red-spotted Toads, and Great Plains Toads, but both should be readily distinguished by its color, size, parotoid glands and warts.

Black Toad

The Black Toad occurs only in Deep Springs Valley southeast of Bishop near the Nevada Border. It occurs with the Great Basin Spadefoot, but is entirely different in appearance, being dark black with a stripe down the middle of the back.

Arizona Toad

The Arizona Toad only occurs in a small area just west of the Colordo River, although it may not occur in California anymore. The lack of a stripe on the back, and the large long parotoid glands will differentiate this toad from others that inhabit the same area.

Yosemite Toad

Males and females vary in appearance. Yosemite toads only occur at high elevations in the Sierra Nevada Mountains. They do not occur with any other species of toad, although the California Toad occurs nearby. The California toad has a distinct dorsal stripe while the Yosemite Toad has a faint stripe.

The ranges of the following toads overlap in some areas, making their identification a little more difficult. Check the range maps to learn which of these toads occurs in your area, then pay attention to some of the basic details listed below.

Rocky Mountain Toad

The Rocky Mountain, or Woodhouse's Toad has spread into California in the far southeast, along the Colorado River and the Imperial Valley to near Palm Springs. The presence of long parotoid glands and an enlarged cranial crest will help you distinguish it from the Red-spotted and California Toads.

Great Plains Toad

The Great Plains Toad occurs in the far southeast, along the Colorado River and the Imperial Valley to near Palm Springs.
It has cranial crests and elongated parotoid glands which will help you distinguish it from the Red-spotted, which has no cranial crests and rounded parotoid glands, and California Toads, which have no cranial crest and a stripe down the back. The large blotches with light edges will help you distinguish it from the Rocky Mountain Toad, which also tends to have a more pronounced stripe down the back.

Red-spotted Toad

The Red-spotted Toad occurs in Southern California, mainly in the deserts east of the mountain ranges and north through much of the Mojave Desert. It's small, rounded parotoid glands and lack of a back stripe will distinguish it from its neighbors. It often has many red spots on the body, but sometimes the red is lacking.

Western Toad

Western Toads are found throughout much of the state, excluding the high Sierras and the deserts (although they can be found in some desert towns.) There are two subspecies, as indicated by the map below. A light stripe down the middle of the back and horizontal pupils should help you distinguish these toads from other toads, frogs and spadefoots occuring in the same area.

Arroyo Toad

The Arroyo Toad occurs along the south and south-central coasts. The lack of a stripe down the middle of the back, non-enlarged toe pads, horizontal pupils, enlarged parotoid glands, and usually a light patch on the head and eyelids, will help you distinguish this toad from other frogs, toads, and spadefoots occuring in the same area.