Eastern American Toad
Anaxyrus americanus americanus
Conservation Status:
State Status: Secure
Global Assessment: Least Concern
Photographed by Alyssa Jones in Monroe
Listen to call:
Description
The eastern American toad is a medium-sized frog, and grows around two to four inches long. Their coloring can appear gray, brown, red, or olive with a white underbelly. They have darker spots around their body and a light stripe down the back. In the biggest dark spots, there are usually one to two large warts. They have dry skin, a short body, and a broad snout. Parotid glands are prominent and appear directly behind each eye. Males are smaller than females and have darker throats during breeding season.
Habitat
American toads can be found in virtually any terrestrial habitat, as long as there is
leaf litter, hiding places, burrowing soil, and an abundance of food. Common habitats include forests, open fields, and residential areas.
Behavior
This species is most active at night, and often hides in burrows during the day. They are inactive during hot and dry periods, and hibernate in burrows over the winter. They have a “home range” of a couple hundred square feet, and usually return to the same hiding place every day. Eastern American toads feed in the early morning to evening on invertebrates such as insects, slugs, and spiders. Their predators consist of many snakes, birds, and mammals. If they are unable to run away when threatened, they will stay still and crouch, relying on their
camouflage. If that fails, they may inflate their body to appear larger. If in the mouth of an attacker, this frog will excrete a toxin from the parotid glands that will cause the predator to release it. When in distress or handled, they may urinate or vocalize. Tadpoles will eat algae, detritus, or other tadpoles, and are preyed on by water bugs, birds, and crayfish. They will swim in schools for safety. The breeding season starts directly after emergence from hibernation, taking place between March and April in Connecticut. These frogs may travel over half a mile during this time. They congregate in shallow waters with no fish– including areas around lakes, ponds, wetlands, even potholes or pools. Females choose mates based on their calls, and eggs are laid in two strings entwined around foliage. The clutch size can range from 2,000 to 15,000 eggs.
Range
Present
Eastern American Toad
Photographed by Alyssa Jones
Often Confused with
Fowler's Toad
Photographed by Cody Limber
The eastern American toad looks similar to the fowler’s toad. The easiest way to tell these two species apart is by looking at the warts in the largest dark spots of the toad. American toads generally have one to two larger warts in the biggest dark spots, while fowler’s toads have three or more smaller warts. American toads also have dark spots on their chest, and fowler’s toads do not.