Scaphiopus
Encyclopedia
Scaphiopus is a genus
of North America
n amphibian
commonly referred to as the Southern Spadefoot Toads. They differ greatly from true toad
s (those of the family Bufonidae) by having eye
s with vertical pupil
s, no parotoid gland
, and relatively smooth skin
. Their most distinctive feature is a spade-like projection on their hind feet, from which their common name is derived. This projection enables spadefoot toads to dig in loose soils with ease.
an cousins in the family
Pelobatidae
, but have since been reclassified to their own family, Scaphiopodidae with other North American species. There are three species
in the genus Scaphiopus:
and into northern Mexico
. They tend to prefer dry, grassland areas with loose, sandy soils that flood in the rainy season.
s and brown
s to camouflage
themselves in their native habitat. At adult size they are usually not much larger than 8 cm.
buried in the ground in aestivation. When it rains, they emerge to feed on invertebrate
s and to breed in vernal pool
s. They have one of the fastest reproductive cycles of any amphibian species. Once laid, egg
s hatch in a matter of a day or two. The tadpole
s are capable of developing to froglets within a couple of weeks. This feature is primarily due to fact that most of their breeding areas dry quickly once the rainy season is over.
, Western Spadefoot Toads
Genus
In biology, a genus is a low-level taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms, which is an example of definition by genus and differentia...
of North America
North America
North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...
n amphibian
Amphibian
Amphibians , are a class of vertebrate animals including animals such as toads, frogs, caecilians, and salamanders. They are characterized as non-amniote ectothermic tetrapods...
commonly referred to as the Southern Spadefoot Toads. They differ greatly from true toad
Toad
A toad is any of a number of species of amphibians in the order Anura characterized by dry, leathery skin , short legs, and snoat-like parotoid glands...
s (those of the family Bufonidae) by having eye
Eye
Eyes are organs that detect light and convert it into electro-chemical impulses in neurons. The simplest photoreceptors in conscious vision connect light to movement...
s with vertical pupil
Pupil
The pupil is a hole located in the center of the iris of the eye that allows light to enter the retina. It appears black because most of the light entering the pupil is absorbed by the tissues inside the eye. In humans the pupil is round, but other species, such as some cats, have slit pupils. In...
s, no parotoid gland
Parotoid gland
The parotoid gland is an external skin gland on the back, neck, and shoulder of toads and some frogs and salamanders. It secretes a milky alkaloid substance to deter predators...
, and relatively smooth skin
Skin
-Dermis:The dermis is the layer of skin beneath the epidermis that consists of connective tissue and cushions the body from stress and strain. The dermis is tightly connected to the epidermis by a basement membrane. It also harbors many Mechanoreceptors that provide the sense of touch and heat...
. Their most distinctive feature is a spade-like projection on their hind feet, from which their common name is derived. This projection enables spadefoot toads to dig in loose soils with ease.
Species
Scaphiopus species were once classified with their EuropeEurope
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
an cousins in the family
Family (biology)
In biological classification, family is* a taxonomic rank. Other well-known ranks are life, domain, kingdom, phylum, class, order, genus, and species, with family fitting between order and genus. As for the other well-known ranks, there is the option of an immediately lower rank, indicated by the...
Pelobatidae
Pelobatidae
The European spadefoot toads are a family of frogs, the Pelobatidae, with only one extant genus Pelobates, containing four species. They are native to Europe, the Mediterranean, northwestern Africa and western Asia....
, but have since been reclassified to their own family, Scaphiopodidae with other North American species. There are three species
Species
In biology, a species is one of the basic units of biological classification and a taxonomic rank. A species is often defined as a group of organisms capable of interbreeding and producing fertile offspring. While in many cases this definition is adequate, more precise or differing measures are...
in the genus Scaphiopus:
- Couch's Spadefoot, Scaphiopus couchiiScaphiopus couchiiCouch's Spadefoot Toad is a species of North American spadefoot toad. The epithet couchii is in honor of American naturalist Darius Nash Couch, who collected the first specimen while on a personal expedition to northern Mexico to collect plant, mineral and animal specimens for the Smithsonian...
BairdSpencer Fullerton BairdSpencer Fullerton Baird was an American ornithologist, ichthyologist and herpetologist. Starting in 1850 he was assistant-secretary and later secretary of the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C...
, 1854 - Eastern Spadefoot, Scaphiopus holbrookiiScaphiopus holbrookiiThe Eastern Spadefoot is a species of spadefoot found in North America. It has one spur on each of its back feet for burrowing. It spends almost all of its life deep underground; coming out only to breed, and sometimes eat. It remains in a type of hibernation almost all its life...
(HarlanRichard HarlanRichard Harlan was an American naturalist, zoologist, physicist and paleontologist....
, 1835) - Hurter's Spadefoot, Scaphiopus hurteriiScaphiopus hurteriiHurter's Spadefoot Toad is a species of spadefoot toad found in the south central United States and northern Mexico. It was once classified as a subspecies of the eastern spadefoot toad, but it has been granted its own species status...
Strecker, 1910
Geographic range
Spadefoot toads are found throughout the United StatesUnited States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
and into northern Mexico
Mexico
The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
. They tend to prefer dry, grassland areas with loose, sandy soils that flood in the rainy season.
Description
Scaphiopus are generally colored appropriately with greenGreen
Green is a color, the perception of which is evoked by light having a spectrum dominated by energy with a wavelength of roughly 520–570 nanometres. In the subtractive color system, it is not a primary color, but is created out of a mixture of yellow and blue, or yellow and cyan; it is considered...
s and brown
Brown
Brown is a color term, denoting a range of composite colors produced by a mixture of orange, red, rose, or yellow with black or gray. The term is from Old English brún, in origin for any dusky or dark shade of color....
s to camouflage
Camouflage
Camouflage is a method of concealment that allows an otherwise visible animal, military vehicle, or other object to remain unnoticed, by blending with its environment. Examples include a leopard's spotted coat, the battledress of a modern soldier and a leaf-mimic butterfly...
themselves in their native habitat. At adult size they are usually not much larger than 8 cm.
Behaviour, Diet & Reproduction
Spadefoot toads are nocturnal and are rarely seen when it hasn't rained recently. They spend most of the time during the dry seasonDry season
The dry season is a term commonly used when describing the weather in the tropics. The weather in the tropics is dominated by the tropical rain belt, which oscillates from the northern to the southern tropics over the course of the year...
buried in the ground in aestivation. When it rains, they emerge to feed on invertebrate
Invertebrate
An invertebrate is an animal without a backbone. The group includes 97% of all animal species – all animals except those in the chordate subphylum Vertebrata .Invertebrates form a paraphyletic group...
s and to breed in vernal pool
Vernal pool
Vernal pools, also called vernal ponds or ephemeral pools, are temporary pools of water. They are usually devoid of fish, and thus allow the safe development of natal amphibian and insect species...
s. They have one of the fastest reproductive cycles of any amphibian species. Once laid, egg
Egg (biology)
An egg is an organic vessel in which an embryo first begins to develop. In most birds, reptiles, insects, molluscs, fish, and monotremes, an egg is the zygote, resulting from fertilization of the ovum, which is expelled from the body and permitted to develop outside the body until the developing...
s hatch in a matter of a day or two. The tadpole
Tadpole
A tadpole or polliwog is the wholly aquatic larval stage in the life cycle of an amphibian, particularly that of a frog or toad.- Appellation :...
s are capable of developing to froglets within a couple of weeks. This feature is primarily due to fact that most of their breeding areas dry quickly once the rainy season is over.
Related species
Genus SpeaSpea
Spea is a genus of North American amphibian commonly referred to as the Western Spadefoot Toads. They differ greatly from true toads by having eyes with vertical pupils, no parotoid gland, and relatively smooth skin. Their most distinctive feature is a spade-like projection on their hind feet,...
, Western Spadefoot Toads
- Plains Spadefoot, Spea bombifronsSpea bombifronsThe Plains Spadefoot Toad is a species of spadefoot toad which ranges from southwestern Canada, throughout the Great Plains of the western United States, and into northern Mexico...
(CopeEdward Drinker CopeEdward Drinker Cope was an American paleontologist and comparative anatomist, as well as a noted herpetologist and ichthyologist. Born to a wealthy Quaker family, Cope distinguished himself as a child prodigy interested in science; he published his first scientific paper at the age of nineteen...
, 1863) - Western Spadefoot Spea hammondiiSpea hammondiiThe Western Spadefoot Toad is a relatively smooth-skinned species of spadefoot toad. Its eyes are pale gold with vertical pupils. It has a green or grey dorsum often with skin tubercles tipped in orange, and it is a whitish color on the ventrum. It has a wedge-shaped black spade on each hind foot...
(BairdSpencer Fullerton BairdSpencer Fullerton Baird was an American ornithologist, ichthyologist and herpetologist. Starting in 1850 he was assistant-secretary and later secretary of the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C...
, 1859) - Great Basin Spadefoot, Spea intermontana (CopeEdward Drinker CopeEdward Drinker Cope was an American paleontologist and comparative anatomist, as well as a noted herpetologist and ichthyologist. Born to a wealthy Quaker family, Cope distinguished himself as a child prodigy interested in science; he published his first scientific paper at the age of nineteen...
, 1883) - Mexican Spadefoot, Spea multiplicataSpea multiplicataThe New Mexico Spadefoot Toad is a species of American spadefoot toad found in the southwestern United States and Mexico. Like other species of spadefoot toad, they get their name from a distinctive spade-like projections on their hind legs which enable them to dig in sandy soils...
(CopeEdward Drinker CopeEdward Drinker Cope was an American paleontologist and comparative anatomist, as well as a noted herpetologist and ichthyologist. Born to a wealthy Quaker family, Cope distinguished himself as a child prodigy interested in science; he published his first scientific paper at the age of nineteen...
, 1863)