Summary ⁵

The American toad (Anaxyrus americanus) is a common species of toad found throughout the eastern United States and Canada. It is divided into three subspecies—the eastern American toad (A. a. americanus), the dwarf American toad (A. a. charlesmithi), and the rare Hudson Bay toad (A. a. copei). Recent taxonomic treatments place this species in the genus Anaxyrus instead of Bufo.

Identification ⁶

Size: 2-3.5 in

Color: Brown or gray (sometimes can get reddish).

Features: "Random" distribution of spots. Line running down the back. Light belly with dark spots. Distinguished from Fowler's Toad because American Toads have less than 3 warts per spot on their back. Fowler's has more than 3 warts per spot.

Sexual Dimorphism: Males are smaller than females during breeding season (January to July) and males will also have a dark throat.

Sources and Credits

1. (c) anonymous, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC), https://eol.org/media/8866154
2. (c) Judy Gallagher, some rights reserved (CC BY), https://www.flickr.com/photos/52450054@N04/25031202464/
3. (c) Richard Crook, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC-SA), https://www.flickr.com/photos/richardwc/33891444706/
4. (c) Richard Crook, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC-SA), https://www.flickr.com/photos/richardwc/40100379420/
5. Adapted by James Lukenda from a work by (c) Wikipedia, some rights reserved (CC BY-SA), https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anaxyrus_americanus
6. (c) James Lukenda, some rights reserved (CC BY-SA)

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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