Bufo americanus

• Common Names
• Description
• Taxonomy
• Similar Species
• Bibliography
• More Info
• Notes

Common Names

Click on the language to view common names.

Description

Habitat

Typically found at an altitude of 0 to 2,110 meters (0 to 6,923 feet).Mean = 242.190 meters (794.587 feet), Standard Deviation = 158.300 based on 1,172 observations. Altitude information for each observation from British Oceanographic Data Centre.

Ecology: It inhabits a wide variety of habitats , ranging from forests to prairies, wherever there is sufficient moisture and food. It hides under objects or burrows underground when inactive . In New York, distribution is apparently influenced by soil pH (Wyman 1988). It breeds in nearly any slow or standing body of water , including both permanent and temporary pools , generally in sites with few if any fishes (e.g. , Holomuzki 1995). Eggs are laid and larvae develop in shallow areas. Embryo survival declines greatly at pH below 4.5 (J. Herpetol. 26:70). In northern Minnesota, successful reproduction in acidic bog water either does not occur or is a rare event (Karns 1992). (Ref. 57069)


List of Habitats:1.1Forest - Boreal 1.4Forest - Temperate 3.4Shrubland - Temperate 4.4Grassland - Temperate 5.4Wetlands (inland) - Bogs, Marshes, Swamps , Fens , Peatlands 5.7Wetlands (inland) - Permanent Freshwater Marshes/Pools (under 8ha) 5.8Wetlands (inland) - Seasonal/Intermittent Freshwater Marshes/Pools (under 8ha) 14.2Artificial/Terrestrial - Pastureland 14.4Artificial/Terrestrial - Rural Gardens 14.5Artificial/Terrestrial - Urban Areas 15.2Artificial/Aquatic - Ponds (below 8ha) 15.5Artificial/Aquatic - Excavations (open) 15.8Artificial/Aquatic - Seasonally Flooded Agricultural Land

Taxonomy

Unambiguous Synonyms

1. Bufo terrestris subsp. americanus Holbrook, 1836
2. Bufo terrestris subsp. copei Yarrow and Henshaw, 1878

Notes

Name Status: Accepted Name . Latest taxonomic scrutiny: 29-Aug-2005

Similar Species

Common in the piedmont and mountain regions of NC, this species is very similar to Fowler's Toad. American Toads are distinguished from Fowler's Toads by a couple of ways: 1. Generally, Americans have only one or two large warts in the big black blotches on the back, whereas Fowler's have 3 or more. 2. In Americans, the parotoid gland (long oval bump behind the eye) does not touch or just barely touches the ridge behind the eye, sometimes connected by a spur. (In Fowler's they touch for a significant length.) Even after looking at these characters, they can be an ID challenge!

Members of the genus Bufo

There are approximately 480 species in this genus. Here are just 100 of them:

B. abatus · B. abei · B. achalensis · B. achavali · B. acutirostris · B. agua · B. ailaoanus · B. alatus · B. albicans · B. albifrons · B. alvarius (Colorado River Toad) · B. amabilis · B. amatolica · B. amatolicus (Amatola Toad) · B. amboroensis (Cochabamba Toad) · B. americana · B. americanus (American Toad) · B. americanus americanus (American Toad) · B. americanus charlesmithi (Dwarf American Toad) · B. americanus copei · B. americanus hemiophrys (Canadian Toad) · B. americanus x · B. americanus; · B. amieti · B. andersoni · B. andersonii · B. anderssoni · B. andrewsi · B. angusticeps · B. anotis · B. apolobambicus · B. arabicus · B. arborescandens · B. arenarum · B. arenarum arenarum · B. arenarum mendocinus · B. arenarun · B. arequipensis · B. arunco · B. asmarae · B. asper (Giant Indonesian Toad) · B. aspinius · B. atacamensis · B. atukoralei (Atukorale's Dwarf Toad) · B. aucoinae · B. azarae · B. bankorensis · B. baukorensis · B. baxteri (Wyoming Toad) · B. beddomii · B. beebei · B. beiranus · B. berghei · B. bergi · B. biporcatus (Philippine Toad) · B. biporcatus biporcatus · B. biporcatus divergens · B. biporcatus philippinicus · B. bisidanae · B. blanfordi · B. blanfordii · B. blombergi · B. bocourti · B. bocourtii · B. boreas (Boreal Toad) · B. boreas boreas (Boreal Toad) · B. boreas halophilus (California Toad) · B. brauni · B. brevipalmata · B. brevirostris · B. brongersmai · B. buchneri · B. bufo (Common Toad) · B. bufo asiaticus · B. bufo bufo · B. bufo formosus · B. bufo gargarizans · B. bufo gredosicola · B. bufo hokkaidoensis · B. bufo spinosus · B. bufo wrighti · B. burmanus · B. burti · B. caeruleostictus · B. calamita (Natterjack Toad) · B. californicus (Arroyo Southwestern Toad) · B. camerunensis · B. camerunensis camerunensis · B. camerunensis cameruniensis · B. camortensis · B. campbelli · B. canalifer · B. canaliferus · B. canorus (Yosemite Toad) · B. carens · B. castaneoticus · B. cataulaciceps · B. cavifrons · B. celebensis · B. ceratophrys

Bibliography

• Amphibian Data. For additional documentation about utilization and CITES status, click on the Global Amphibian Assessment (GAA) link above to see the GAA account for this species or alternatively follow this link to the search function on the Global Amphibian Assessment web site and run your own search.
• Banks, R. C., R. W. McDiarmid, A. L. Gardner, and W. C. Starnes 2003. Checklist of Vertebrates of the United States, the U.S. Territories, and Canada.
• Banks, R. C., R. W. McDiarmid, and A. L. Gardner 1987. Checklist of Vertebrates of the United States, the U.S. Territories, and Canada. Resource Publication, no. 166. United States Department of the Interior Fish and Wildlife Service. Washington, D.C., USA. 79.
• Barbour, R.W. 1971. Amphibians and Reptiles of Kentucky. University Press of Kentucky, Lexington, Kentucky. x + 334 pp.
• Blackburn, L., Nanjappa, P. and Lannoo, M.J. 2001. An Atlas of the Distribution of U.S. Amphibians. Ball State University, Muncie, IN, USA.
• Bradford, D. F. (1984). and quot;Temperature modulation in a high-elevation amphibian, Rana muscosa. and quot; Copeia, 1984(4), 966-976.
• Collins, J.T. 1982. Amphibians and Reptiles in Kansas. Second edition. University of Kansas Museum of Natural History, Pub. Ed. Ser. 8, Kansas.
• Conant, R. and Collins, J.T. 1998. A Field Guide to the Reptiles and Amphibians of Eastern North America. Houghton Mifflin Company, Boston, Massachusetts.
• DeGraaf, R.M. and Rudis, D.D. 1983. Amphibians and Reptiles of New England: Habitats and Natural History. University of Massachusetts Press, Amherst, Massachusetts.
• Flores-Villela, Oscar / McCoy, C. J., ed. 1993. Herpetofauna Mexicana: Lista anotada de las especies de anfibios y reptiles de M and eacute;xico, cambios taxon and oacute;micos recientes, y nuevas especies. Carnegie Museum of Natural History Special Publication, no. 17. Carnegie Museum of Natural History. Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA. iv + 73. ISBN: 0-911239-42-1.
• Francis R. Cook (1984). Introduction to Canadian Amphibians and Reptiles. National Museums of Canada, Ottawa, Canada.
• Frost, D.R. (ed.) 1985. Amphibian Species of the World: A Taxonomic and Geographic Reference. Allen Press and the Association of Systematic Collections, Lawrence, Kansas.
• Green, D.M. 1983. Allozyme variation through a clinal hybrid zone between the toads Bufo americanus and B. hemiophrys in southeastern Manitoba. Herpetologica 39: 28-40.
• Green, D.M. 1984. Sympatric hybridization and allozyme variation in the toads Bufo americanus and B. fowleri in southern Ontario. Copeia 1984: 18-26.
• Green, D.M. and Pustowka, C. 1997. Correlated morphological and allozyme variation in the hybridizing toads Bufo americanus and Bufo hemiophrys. Herpetologica 53: 218-228.
• Green, N.B. and Pauley, T.K. 1987. Amphibians and Reptiles in West Virginia. University of Pittsburgh Press, Pittsburgh, PA, USA.
• Holomuzki, J.R. 1995. Oviposition sites and fish-deterrent mechanisms of two stream anurans. Copeia 1995: 607-613.
• James A. Oliver (1955). The Natural History of North American Amphibians and Reptiles. D. Van Nostrand Campany, Ltd., Canada.
• Johnson, T.R. 1977. The Amphibians of Missouri. University of Kansas Museum of Natural History, Pub. Ed. Ser. 6. Lawrence, Kansas.
• Karl P. Schmidt (1953). A Check list of North American Amphibians and Reptiles. The University of Chicago Press, Chicago, Illinois.
• Karns, D.R. 1992. Effects of acidic bog habitats on amphibian reproduction in a northern Minnesota peatland. Journal of Herpetology 26: 401-412.
• Minton Jr., S.A. 1972. Amphibians and Reptiles of Indiana. Indiana Academy of Science Monographs 3, Indianapolis, IN, USA.
• Mount, R. H. 1975. The Reptiles and Amphibians of Alabama. Auburn University Agricultural Experiment Station, Auburn, AL, USA.
• Rothermel, B.B. and Semlitsch, R.D. 2002. An experimental investigation of landscape resistance of forest versus old-field habitats to emigrating juvenile amphibians. Conservation Biology 16: 1324-1332.
• Sanders, O. 1987. Evolutionary Hybridization and Speciation in North American Indigenous Bufonids. Strecker Museum, Baylor University, Waco, Texas. 110 pp.
• Tom R. Johnson (1987). The Amphibians and Reptiles of Missouri. Missouri Department of Conservation, Jefferson City.
• Vogt, R.C. 1981. Natural History of Amphibians and Reptiles of Wisconsin. Milwaukee Public Museum, Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
• Wright A. H. and A.A. Wright (1949). Handbook of frogs and toads of the United States and Canada. Comstock Publishing Associates, Cornell University Press, Ithaca, New York, USA.
• Wyman, R.L. 1988. Soil acidity and moisture and the distribution of amphibians in five forests of southcentral New York. Copeia 1988: 394-399.

More Info

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Notes

Contributors

• Bisby, F.A., Y.R. Roskov, M.A. Ruggiero, T.M. Orrell, L.E. Paglinawan, P.W. Brewer, N. Bailly, J. van Hertum, eds (2007). Species 2000 & ITIS Catalogue of Life: 2007 Annual Checklist. Species 2000: Reading, U.K.
• Brands, S.J. (comp.) 1989-2006. Systema Naturae 2000. The Taxonomicon. Universal Taxonomic Services, Amsterdam, The Netherlands. Accessed April 6, 2007.
• Global Biodiversity Information Facility. Accessed March 05, 2008. http://www.gbif.org Mediated distribution data from 13 providers.
• Hammerson, G. 2004. In IUCN 2008. 2008 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. IUCNRedList.org. Downloaded July 18, 2008.
• MBLWHOI Library: Universal Biological Index and Organizer. uBio.org accessed July 18, 2008.
• Pippen, Jeffrey S. Jeff's Nature Page. Accessed December 8, 2007.

Data Sources

Accessed through GBIF Data Portal March 05, 2008:

• Bird Studies Canada: Marsh Monitoring Program - Amphibians
• Borror Laboratory of Bioacoustics
• California Academy of Sciences: CAS Herpetology Collection Catalog
• Canadian Museum of Nature: Canadian Museum of Nature Amphibian and Reptile Collection - Anura
• Carnegie Museums: Amphibians and Reptiles
• Cornell University Museum of Vertebrates: Amphibians and Reptiles Collection
• EMAN Provider: FrogWatch Canada
• Los Angeles County Museum of Natural History: Vertebrate specimens
• Marine Science Institute, UCSB: Paleobiology Database
• Museum of Vertebrate Zoology: Terrestrial vertebrate specimens
• University of Alberta: University of Alberta Herpetology Collection
• University of Minnesota Bell Museum of Natural History: Herp specimens
• Yale University Peabody Museum: Peabody Herp Collection DiGIR provider Service

Identifiers

• Biodiversity Heritage Library NamebankID: 2475486
• Catalogue of Life Accepted Name Code: ITS-207121
• Global Biodiversity Information Facility Taxonkey: 13825622
• Integrated Taxonomic Information System (ITIS) Taxonomic Serial Number (TSN): 173473
• IUCN ID: 54570
• Natural Heritage Network Species Identifier: AAABB01020
• Zipcode Zoo Species Identifier: 153641

Footnotes

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