American toad
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

[Photo] American Toad, Bufo americanus, dorso-lateral view. Location: Durham County, North Carolina, United States. Photograph taken by Patrick Coin. Date 2006-04-17.

The American toad (Bufo americanus) is a common species of toad found throughout the eastern United States and Canada.

Eastern American toad
The Eastern American toad (Bufo americanus americanus) is a medium sized toad usually found in the range from 2 to over 3 1/2 inches. The color and pattern is somewhat variable. The Eastern American toad has spots that contain only one to two warts. It also has enlarged warts on the tibia or lower leg below the knee. While the belly is usually spotted, it is generally more so on the forward half (in some rare individuals there may be few or no spots). Other species which may be confused with the Eastern American toad are Fowler's toad, which has three or more warts in the largest dark spots, and in the far west of its range Woodhouse's toad.

This species can be difficult to identify. It never has a spotted belly and both cranial crests touch the parotoid glands. In the Eastern American toad they almost never touch the parotoid glands.

The Eastern American toad may be confused with the Canadian toad in the area where they overlap, but the cranial crests in the American toad do not join to form a raised "boss" (bump) like they do in the Canadian toad. Its range also overlaps with the Southern toad's, but in this species the cranial crests form two unique knobs. Their diet includes crickets, mealworms, worms, ants, and other small insects.

Dwarf American toad
The Dwarf American toad (Bufo americanus charlesmithi), is a smaller version of the American toad which reaches lengths of about 2 1/2 inches and is generally a dark reddish color. The spots on the back are reduced or absent, and when present they contain at most one wart. The ventral surface or belly is usually cream colored with a few dark spots in the breast area. This subspecies can be distinguished from the above mentioned species in the same manner as for the Eastern American toad. The southwestern portion of the Dwarf American toad's range overlaps with that of the Gulf Coast Toad. The latter species is distinguished by the presence of a dark lateral stripe in as well as a deep "valley" between its prominent cranial crests. It eats mainly spiders, worms and mushrooms.

Hudson Bay toad
The Hudson Bay toad (Bufo americanus copei) is a rare Canadian subspecies of Bufo americanus.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_toad

The text in this page is based on the copyrighted Wikipedia article shown in above URL. It is used under the GNU Free Documentation License. You may redistribute it, verbatim or modified, providing that you comply with the terms of the GFDL.