Wyoming Toad
Encyclopedia
The Wyoming Toad or Baxter's Toad (Bufo baxteri or Anaxyrus baxteri) is an extremely rare amphibian
that exists only in captivity and within Mortenson Lake National Wildlife Refuge
in the U.S. state
of Wyoming
. The Wyoming Toad was listed as an endangered species
in 1984, and listed as extinct in the wild
since 1991. Before the sharp declines occurred, this toad was classified as a subspecies of the Canadian Toad
.
Relatively common in the 1950s, the Wyoming Toad experienced a sharp decline during the 1970s leading to an endangered species listing and it was believed the toad was extinct by 1980. The Wyoming Toad was later rediscovered in the wild in 1987 along the shores of Mortenson Lake, which is an alpine lake situated at 7256 feet (2,211.6 m) above sea level. The toad is historically found only in the Laramie Basin within 30 miles (48.3 km) of Laramie, Wyoming
. By the early 1990s a captured breeding program was commenced in an attempt to save the endangered toad from extinction, but no known wild reproduction has occurred since 1991.
Future conservation of the Wyoming Toad in the wild is heavily dependent upon eradicating chytrid fungus (Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis
), which is probably the biggest threat to the species' survival.
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...
that exists only in captivity and within Mortenson Lake National Wildlife Refuge
Mortenson Lake National Wildlife Refuge
Mortenson Lake National Wildlife Refuge is located in southern Albany County in the U.S. state of Wyoming and includes 1,776 acres . The refuge is managed by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service an agency within the U.S. Department of the Interior. Mortensen Lake NWR is a high altitude refuge...
in the U.S. state
U.S. state
A U.S. state is any one of the 50 federated states of the United States of America that share sovereignty with the federal government. Because of this shared sovereignty, an American is a citizen both of the federal entity and of his or her state of domicile. Four states use the official title of...
of Wyoming
Wyoming
Wyoming is a state in the mountain region of the Western United States. The western two thirds of the state is covered mostly with the mountain ranges and rangelands in the foothills of the Eastern Rocky Mountains, while the eastern third of the state is high elevation prairie known as the High...
. The Wyoming Toad was listed as an endangered species
Endangered species
An endangered species is a population of organisms which is at risk of becoming extinct because it is either few in numbers, or threatened by changing environmental or predation parameters...
in 1984, and listed as extinct in the wild
Extinct in the Wild
Extinct in the Wild is a conservation status assigned to species or lower taxa, the only known living members of which are being kept in captivity or as a naturalized population outside its historic range.-Examples:...
since 1991. Before the sharp declines occurred, this toad was classified as a subspecies of the Canadian Toad
Canadian Toad
The Canadian Toad is a species of toad that ranges from the prairie regions of central Canada south to parts of United States upper midwest. Its name is derived from the Latin words bufonis, meaning toad, and hemiophrys, meaning eyebrow, which refers to its pronounced cranial crest between and...
.
Habitat
The Wyoming Toad frequents floodplains and the short grass edges of ponds, creeks, and lakes. They frequently use abandoned pocket gopher and ground squirrel burrows as hibernacula.Conservation history
Laramie, Wyoming
Laramie is a city in and the county seat of Albany County, Wyoming, United States. The population was 30,816 at the . Located on the Laramie River in southeastern Wyoming, the city is west of Cheyenne, at the junction of Interstate 80 and U.S. Route 287....
. By the early 1990s a captured breeding program was commenced in an attempt to save the endangered toad from extinction, but no known wild reproduction has occurred since 1991.
Future conservation of the Wyoming Toad in the wild is heavily dependent upon eradicating chytrid fungus (Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis
Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis
Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis is a chytrid fungus that causes the disease chytridiomycosis. In the decade after it was first discovered in amphibians in 1998, the disease devastated amphibian populations around the world, in a global decline towards multiple extinctions, part of the Holocene...
), which is probably the biggest threat to the species' survival.
External links
- Wyoming Toad at AmphibiaWeb
- Cheyenne Mountain Zoo, Wyoming Toad breeding program
- http://content.lib.utah.edu/cdm4/results.php?CISOOP1=exact&CISOOP2=exact&CISOMODE=grid&CISOGRID=thumbnail,A,1;title,A,1;subjec,A,0;common,200,0;none,A,0;20;title,none,none,none,none&CISOBIB=title,A,1,N;identi,A,0,N;common,200,0,N;none,A,0,N;none,A,0,N;20;title,none,none,none,none&CISOTHUMB=20%20(4x5);title,none,none,none,none&CISOTITLE=20;title,none,none,none,none&CISOHIERA=20;identi,title,none,none,none&CISOSUPPRESS=0&CISOFIELD1=subjec&CISOROOT=/wss&CISOBOX1=Amphibians&CISOFIELD2=common&CISOBOX2=Wyoming+ToadWestern Soundscape Archive Audio Recording]