red-spotted toad (Phoenix Zoo - Arizona Trail)

red-spotted toad

Anaxyrus punctatus

Summary ⁷

The red-spotted toad (Bufo punctatus) is a small toad species growing to 3.7 to 7.5 centimeters in length. It has a flattened head and body, and a light grey, olive or reddish brown dorsum with reddish or orange skin glands. It has a whitish or buff venter with or without faint dark spotting, and round parotoid glands. Its snout is pointed.

Description ⁸

This small toad (ranging from 38-76 mm total length) is described as having a flattened, short sub-triangular head with a pointed snout. It is the only North American toad that has small, round parotoid glands the same size as the eye plus weak or absent cranial crests (Korky 1999). The coloration is gray or light to medium brown, with reddish to orangish warts and a white ventral stripe; sometimes the stripe has spotting (Conant and Collins 1991; Stebbins 1985) . Korky (1999) also states, "this species is the only North American toad with round parotoids about the same size as the eye, and with cranial crests notabely weak or absent."

Hybrids with other bufonid species have been found in nature (Sullivan 1990).

Many late Pleistocene and Holocene fossils have been recovered for this species at numerous sites in Nevada, New Mexico, Arizona, California, Texas as well as in Sonora, Mexico (for complete references please see Korky 1999). Korky (1999) has provided a long literature list for this species.

See another account at californiaherps.com.

Range description ⁹

This species is known from California, Nevada, central Utah, Colorado, and southwestern Kansas in the USA, south to southern Baja California and central Mexico, and to the state of QuerÃ©taro. It occurs at elevations up to about 1,980m asl.

Iucn red list assessment ¹⁰

Red List Category

Least Concern

Red List Criteria

Version

3.1

Year Assessed

2010

Assessor/s

Geoffrey Hammerson, Georgina Santos-Barrera

Reviewer/s

Global Amphibian Assessment Coordinating Team (Simon Stuart, Janice Chanson, Neil Cox and Bruce Young)

Contributor/s

Justification

Listed as Least Concern in view of its wide distribution, presumed large population, and because it is unlikely to be declining to qualify for listing in a more threatened category.

History

2004

Least Concern

Fuentes y créditos

(c) Pompilid, algunos derechos reservados (CC BY-SA), https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/6/69/Bufo_punctatus_az.jpg/460px-Bufo_punctatus_az.jpg
(c) 2002 California Academy of Sciences, algunos derechos reservados (CC BY-NC-SA), http://calphotos.berkeley.edu/cgi/img_query?seq_num=109758&one=T
(c) 1999 California Academy of Sciences, algunos derechos reservados (CC BY-NC-SA), http://calphotos.berkeley.edu/cgi/img_query?seq_num=857&one=T
(c) 2011 Todd Pierson, algunos derechos reservados (CC BY-NC), http://calphotos.berkeley.edu/cgi/img_query?seq_num=385011&one=T
(c) 1999 California Academy of Sciences, algunos derechos reservados (CC BY-NC-SA), http://calphotos.berkeley.edu/cgi/img_query?seq_num=859&one=T
(c) 1999 California Academy of Sciences, algunos derechos reservados (CC BY-NC-SA), http://calphotos.berkeley.edu/cgi/img_query?seq_num=856&one=T
(c) Wikipedia, algunos derechos reservados (CC BY-SA), http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anaxyrus_punctatus
(c) AmphibiaWeb © 2000-2011 The Regents of the University of California, algunos derechos reservados (CC BY), http://eol.org/data_objects/23849712
(c) International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources, algunos derechos reservados (CC BY-NC-SA), http://eol.org/data_objects/27996759
(c) International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources, algunos derechos reservados (CC BY-NC-SA), http://eol.org/data_objects/27996758