Summary ⁶

Fowler's toad (Anaxyrus fowleri syn. Bufo fowleri) is a species of toad in the family Bufonidae. It is native to North America, where it occurs in much of the eastern United States and parts of adjacent Canada.

Description ⁷

Anaxyrus fowleri is an abundant toad of relatively small size, ranging from 2.00-3.75 inches SVL. While this species usually displays an immaculate venter, many specimens have been observed to have a single dark spot on the chest. Characteristically, this species has a light-colored middorsal stripe, coupled with a brown or gray dorsal surface, though some individuals may have a green or reddish dorsal surface. In general, A. fowleri characteristically displays at least three of the following characteristics: tibia with no greatly enlarged warts, no spots on the chest or belly, the largest dark spots containing at least three warts, and a parotoid gland that borders the cranial ridge (Conant and Collins 1991).

Similar species may be distinguished by the following features: 1) the American Toad displays no more than 2 warts in dark regions coupled with a spotted chest; 2) the Gulf Coast Toad possesses a prominent dark stripe instead of the light colored stripe observed in A. fowleri; and, 3) the posterior region of the cranial crest of the Southern Toad displays pronounced knobs.

The species was named after an early Massachusetts naturalist, S. P. Fowler.

Sources and Credits

1. (c) Patrick Coin, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC-SA), http://www.flickr.com/photos/42264328@N00/2847557654
2. (c) 2010 Todd Pierson, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC), http://calphotos.berkeley.edu/cgi/img_query?seq_num=340018&one=T
3. (c) 2013 Todd Pierson, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC), http://calphotos.berkeley.edu/cgi/img_query?seq_num=579540&one=T
4. (c) James Dowling-Healey, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC-SA), https://animaldiversity.org/collections/contributors/james_dowlinghealey/Bufofowleri1/medium.jpg
5. (c) Tanya Dewey, Animal Diversity Web, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC-SA), https://animaldiversity.org/collections/contributors/tanya_dewey/fowlerstoadlet5/medium.jpg
6. (c) Wikipedia, some rights reserved (CC BY-SA), http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anaxyrus_fowleri
7. (c) AmphibiaWeb © 2000-2015 The Regents of the University of California, some rights reserved (CC BY), http://eol.org/data_objects/34266018

More Info

• iNat taxon page
• AMNH Amphibian Species of the World
• AmphibiaWeb
• Animal Diversity Web
• Biodiversity Heritage Library
• BOLD Systems BIN search
• Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF)
• HerpMapper
• Maryland Biodiversity Project
• NatureServe Explorer 2.0
• VertNet

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