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True Toads and Spadefoot species have dry skin with scattered warts or tubercles. These species also have noticeable digging spurs on the hind feet.
Listen to Calls of the American Toad
Audio recording of American Toad vocalizations in their natural environment. No spoken narration is included.
American Toads are medium-sized creatures with very dry warty skin, and they move by hopping rather than leaping. The ground color of an American Toad can be dark brown, grayish, yellowish-brown, light brown, or reddish. Some are covered with dark spots but others are almost plain in color. Each dark spot on the back will include only 1 or 2 warts (Fowler’s Toads have some dark spots containing 3 or more warts). In American Toads the cranial crests are more pronounced than those of Fowler’s toads and are totally separated from the bulging parotoid glands or connected to them only by a short spur. Also, on American Toads some warts on the lower part of the hind leg (tibia) are larger than the warts on the upper part (femur). On a Fowler’s Toad, all of the hind leg warts are about the same size. Female American Toads often grow to be much larger than the males and are often much more colorful.
American toads can be found statewide and live in a wide variety of habitats but seem most partial to woodlands. They breed mostly from mid-March through May in temporary ponds, especially water-filled ruts left behind by logging equipment, ATVs, and other vehicles. The eggs are laid in long beadlike strings, and to some people, they resemble coils of some small animal’s intestines laid out on the bottom of a pool. The call is a long, drawn-out musical trill that can last up to a half-minute; each male in a chorus calls at a slightly different pitch.
Listen to Calls of the Fowler's Toad
Audio recording of Fowler's Toad vocalizations in their natural environment. No spoken narration is included.
Fowler’s Toads are very similar to American Toads but are often paler in color and somewhat smaller (never much more than 3 inches long). The ground color is usually pale gray to light brown (rarely brick red), and the dark spots on the back are often paired and some contain 3 or more warts. The cranial crests are low and touch the bulging parotoid glands, and the warts on the tibia are all about the same size as those on the femur.
Fowler’s Toads occur throughout Kentucky but are uncommon across the Bluegrass Region. Adults live in a wide variety of habitats but seem most common in areas with well-drained sandy soils. These toads generally breed later in the year than American Toads, starting in late April or early May and continuing through mid-July. Fowler’s Toads primarily lay their eggs in ponds, flooded fields, and shallow areas of rivers and streams. The call is a deep nasal trill lasting from one to several seconds; it is surprising that such a small toad can make such a big sound.
Listen to Calls of the Eastern Spadefoot
Audio recording of Eastern Spadefoot vocalizations in their natural environment. No spoken narration is included.
The Eastern Spadefoot looks like a toad and even hops like a toad, but it differs from our true toads in having vertical pupils (toads have horizontal pupils) and relatively smooth skin with small, scattered reddish-tipped warts (true toads are much, much wartier). The Spadefoot has a squat body, fairly short hind legs, and a single elongate curved black digging spur (the “spade”) on each hind foot; toads also have digging spurs on their hind feet. The Spadefoot has the most beautiful eyes of any Kentucky amphibian, featuring a golden, bronze, or yellow iris with large black pupils. Body color is quite variable; a Spadefoot can be plain dark brown to light brown or tan, but many individuals have a pair of whitish to yellowish curved stripes arranged like reversed parentheses, and some have patches of yellow along the sides of the body.
Eastern Spadefoots are excellent burrowers, and much of their time is spent underground in upland woods with sandy soils. They emerge from the ground to breed during heavy rains and thunderstorms, laying eggs in temporary pools or flooded fields. After breeding, they quickly leave the breeding sites and return to their underground retreats. In Kentucky, Spadefoot choruses have been heard both day and night from early January through October, but most breeding takes place from April through July. The Eastern Spadefoot is wide-ranging in Kentucky but is uncommon in some areas and completely absent from the Bluegrass Region.
Like a Pickerel Frog, an Eastern Spadefoot can ooze liquid from its skin that irritates the mucus membranes of predators and can kill other amphibians. The skin secretion smells very similar to crushed lightning bugs.
Male Spadefoots generally call while floating in shallow water; the voice is a mournful bawl repeated every 5 to 10 seconds.
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