European spadefoot toad
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

[Photo] Western Spadefoot Toad (Pelobates cultripes). From: George Albert Boulenger, "The tailless batrachians of Europe", 1897-98. Source: http://www.sil.si.edu/ImageGalaxy/imagegalaxy_imageDetail.cfm?id_image=6899

The European spadefoot toads (Pelobatidae) are a family of frogs with only one genus Pelobates, containing four species. They are native to Europe, the Mediterranean, northwestern Africa and western Asia.

The European spadefoot toads are small to large sized frogs, which are often inconspicuously coloured. They are predominantly fossorial (burrowing) frogs, which burrow in sandy soils. They have a hardened protrusion on their feet which allows for them to bury themselves without damaging their softer feet. They will emerge from the ground during periods of rain and breed in pools, which are usually temporary. All of the species from this family have free-living, aquatic tadpoles.

Taxonomy
The seven species of American Spacefoot Toads (genera Scaphiopus and Spea) were previously also included into the Pelobatidae family, but are now generally regarded as the separate family Scaphiopodidae.

Western Spadefoot Toad (Pelobates cultripes)
Common Spadefoot (Pelobates fuscus)
Eastern Spadefoot Toad (Pelobates syriacus)
Moroccan Spadefoot Toad (Pelobates varaldii)

The earliest fossil genus of pelobatids, Elkobatrachus, was described in 2006.

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