including B.b. boreas (Boreal Toad)
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BUFO BOREAS
including B.b. boreas (Boreal Toad) |
| COMMON NAME: Western Toad
SCIENTIFIC NAME: Bufo boreas
STATUS: Federal- Candidate species (USFWS,
Southern Rocky Mountain population), Sensitive (USFS, R2 only); States:
Idaho and Utah- species of Special concern
RANKING: Global- Apparently secure;
States: Idaho- apparently secure, Utah and Nevada- Not provided
FOREST PRESENT: Ashley, Caribou, Dixie, Fishlake,
Humboldt-Toiyabe
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DESCRIPTION: The Western Toad is characterized
by the absence of a cranial crest and usually the presence of a light colored,
mid dorsal stripe than runs down the length of the back. The paratoid
glands are round or oval shaped and slightly larger than the upper eyelids.
Dorsal coloration can range from gray to green or brown with darker spots.
The Boreal Toad is distinguished from the Western Toad by having considerable
dark blotching on the belly. Metamorphosed Toad are only 1/2 inch
long but adults can grow up to 5 inches in length. The tadpoles are
uniformly dark wiht a round body. They are slow swimmers and congregate
in large schools of individuals. The intestines are not usually visible.
LIFE HISTORY: The Western Toad,
including the Boreal Toad (Bufo boreas boreas), occurs throughout
the West and is probably indigenous to every forest in the Intermountain
Region. It inhabits a wide variety of habitats from desert to mountain
meadows in and around springs, lake, ponds, reservoirs, streams, and slow
moving rivers. They have been observed to nearly 12,000 feet in elevation.
Adults tend to walk rather than hop and have a mellow chick like peep.
The Western Toad is most active at night in lower elevations
and diurnal at higher and more Northerly locales. It is inactive
during the winter in cold climates but becomes diurnal elsewhere.
Like other toads, it buries itself in loose soils or hides in rodent burrows
when inactive.
BREEDING: This species breeds in shallow areas of lentic or slow moving waters. The eggs are laid in two intertwined strands several feet long which are deposited on the bottom or wrapped around objects such as sedges or branches. The eggs are pigmented and females can lay up to 16,500 eggs each.
DIET: Larvae feed on suspended
plant material or bottom detritus. Adults eat various terrestrial
invertebrates.
VOICE: The call is a mellow series
of chick like peeps. The Western toad calls night and day
USDA,
Forest Service
Federal
Building
324
25th Street
Ogden,
Utah 84401