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Anaxyrus fowleri

May 05, 2024

Fowler's toad[3] (Anaxyrus fowleri) is a species of toad in the family Bufonidae. The species is native to North America, where it occurs in much of the eastern United States and parts of adjacent Canada.[1][2] It was previously considered a subspecies of Woodhouse's toad (Anaxyrus woodhousii, formerly Bufo woodhousii).[2][4]

Fowler's toad
Scientific classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Amphibia
Order: Anura
Family: Bufonidae
Genus: Anaxyrus
Species:
A. fowleri
Binomial name
Anaxyrus fowleri
(Hinckley, 1882)
Synonyms[2]
  • Bufo fowleri
    Hinckley, 1882
  • Bufo lentiginosus fowleri
    — Garman, 1884
  • Bufo woodhousii fowleri
    — H.M. Smith, 1934
  • Bufo compactilis fowleri
    — Linsdale, 1940
  • Anaxyrus fowleri
    — Frost et al., 2006
  • Bufo (Anaxyrus) fowleri
    — Fouquette & Dubois [fr], 2014
Fowler's toad in leaf litter

Etymology edit

The specific name, fowleri, is in honor of naturalist Samuel Page Fowler (1800–1888) from Massachusetts, who was a founder of the Essex County Natural History Society, which later became the Essex Institute.[5]

Description edit

Fowler's toad is usually brown, grey, olive green and rust red in color with darkened warty spots. If the toad has a pale stripe on its back, it is an adult. The belly is usually uniformly whitish except for one dark spot. The male may be darker in overall color than the female.

The adult toad is typically 5 to 9.5 cm (2.0 to 3.7 in) in head-body length. The tadpole is oval with a long tail and upper and lower fins, and is 1 to 1.4 cm (0.39 to 0.55 in) long.

Range edit

Their native geographic range is eastern North America. Their range extends throughout most of the southeastern and eastern United States and parts of southeastern Canada. They reside in areas near temporary or permanent wetlands as well as forested areas.

Reproduction edit

Fowler's toad reproduces in warmer seasons of the year, especially in May and June. It breeds in open, shallow waters such as ponds, lakeshores, and marshes. The male produces a call which attracts not only females, but also other males. The calling male may attempt to mate with one of the other males, which will then produce a chirping "release call", informing him of his mistake. It has been found that male Fowler's toads mating calls are affected by the body size and temperature of the caller. Females are often able to discriminate between variations in these calls and select the largest available males.[6] Males are able to alter their calls to make them seem more attractive to females through thermoregulation. When a male finds a female, the pair will initiate amplexus and up to 7,000 to 10,000 eggs are fertilized. They hatch in 2 to 7 days. Based on observations, Fowler's toads breed repeatedly through the spring.[7] As many as 10 different age classes, separated by several days, have been observed over the course of a breeding season in one small pond. A new tadpole may reach sexual maturity in one season, but the process may take up to three years.

Fowler's toad regularly hybridizes with two of its close relatives: the American toad and the Woodhouse's toad. The Woodhouse's toad subspecies Anaxyrus woodhousii velatus, or the East Texas toad, is possibly a hybrid of the Woodhouse's toad and the Fowler's toad.[8]

Behavior edit

Predators of Fowler's toad include snakes, birds, and small mammals. It uses defensive coloration to blend into its surroundings. It also secretes a noxious compound from the warts on its back. The secretion, containing toxic bufadienolides, is distasteful to predators and can be lethal to small mammals.[9] The toad is also known to play dead.

Habitat edit

Fowler's toad lives in open woodlands, sand prairies, meadows, and beaches. It burrows into the ground during hot, dry periods and during the winter. They are often found hiding under broad leaved plants, amidst clumps of grass, and inside or under logs.[10] Their springtime emergence is associated with increased temperature, relatively little rainfall or wind, and a gibbous moon.[11]

Diet edit

The adult Fowler's toad eats insects and other small terrestrial invertebrates, but avoids earthworms, unlike its close relative, the American toad (Anaxyrus americanus). This toad also has been shown to eat velvet ants, which is a wasp that gives a very painful sting to humans, but does nothing to the toad.[12] The tadpole scrapes algae and bacterial mats from rocks and plants using the tooth-like structures in its mouth.

 
In Missouri Ozarks

Conservation status edit

An important conservation measure for Fowler's toad is the protection of its breeding sites. Off-road vehicles commonly used in beach and dune habitats are damaging to this species. Agricultural chemicals have caused declines in some areas. These factors along with specific habitat requirements and excessive human activity within these habitats produces permanent, local extinctions.[13] It is considered a species at risk in Ontario,[4] a species of special concern in the U.S. state of New Jersey,[14] and a regionally threatened or endangered species in the states of New Hampshire[15] and Vermont.[16]

References edit

  1. ^ a b IUCN SSC Amphibian Specialist Group (2022). "Anaxyrus fowleri". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2022: e.T54640A196333508. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2022-1.RLTS.T54640A196333508.en. Retrieved 12 May 2023.
  2. ^ a b c Frost, Darrel R. (2023). "Anaxyrus fowleri (Hinckley, 1882)". Amphibian Species of the World: An Online Reference. Version 6.1. American Museum of Natural History. Retrieved 4 May 2023.
  3. ^ Crother, Brian I. “SSAR HERPETOLOGICAL CIRCULAR NO. 43.” Scientific and Standard English Names of Amphibians and Reptiles of North America North of Mexico, with Comments Regarding Confidence in Our Understanding, Society for the Study of Amphibians and Reptiles, Topeka, KS, 2017, p. 9.
  4. ^ a b Fowler's Toad. September 13, 2010, at the Wayback Machine Natural Resources Canada.
  5. ^ Dodd, C. Kenneth. (2013). Frogs of the United States and Canada. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press. 1,032 pp. (in two volumes). ISBN 978-1421406336.
  6. ^ Fairchild, Lincoln (22 May 1981). "Mate Selection and Behavioral Thermoregulation in Fowler's Toads". Science. 212 (4497): 950–951. Bibcode:1981Sci...212..950F. doi:10.1126/science.212.4497.950. PMID 17830192.
  7. ^ Volpe, E. Peter (September 1955). "Intensity of Reproductive Isolation between Sympatric and Allopatric Populations of Bufo americanus and Bufo fowleri". The American Naturalist. 89 (848): 303–317. doi:10.1086/281895. S2CID 85405593.
  8. ^ Sullivan, Brian K.; Malmos, Keith B.; Given, Mac F. (16 May 1996). "Systematics of the Bufo woodhousii Complex (Anura: Bufonidae): Advertisement Call Variation". Copeia. 1996 (2): 274–280. doi:10.2307/1446843. JSTOR 1446843.
  9. ^ Hutchinson, Deborah; Savitzky, Alan; Mori, Akira; Burghardt, Gordon; Meinwold, Jerrold; Schroeder, Frank (1 May 2011). "Chemical investigations of defensive steroid sequestration by the Asian snake Rhabdophis tigrinus". Chemoecology. 22 (3): 199–206. doi:10.1007/s00049-011-0078-2. Retrieved 15 May 2023.
  10. ^ Boenke, Morgan (2012). Terrestrial habitat and ecology of Fowler's toads (Anaxyrus fowleri) (MSc thesis). McGill University. ISBN 978-0-494-84140-2. ProQuest 1034740462.
  11. ^ Green, Taylor; Das, Elizabeth; Green, David M. (2016). "Springtime Emergence of Overwintering Toads, Anaxyrus fowleri, in Relation to Environmental Factors". Copeia. 104 (2): 393–401. doi:10.1643/ce-15-323. S2CID 88626886.
  12. ^ Mergler, Ciara J.; Gall, Brian G. (2 January 2021). "Has the indestructible insect met its match? Velvet ants as prey to bufonid toads". Ethology Ecology & Evolution. 33 (1): 15–24. doi:10.1080/03949370.2020.1789747. S2CID 225392620.
  13. ^ Breden, Felix (1988). "Natural history and ecology of Fowler's toad, Bufo woodhousei fowleri (Amphibia: Bufonidae), in the Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore". Fieldiana Zoology. New Series. 49: 1–16. doi:10.5962/bhl.title.3129.
  14. ^ "Wildlife Field Guide for New Jersey's Endangered and Threatened Species - Conserve Wildlife Foundation of New Jersey". www.conservewildlifenj.org. Retrieved 2021-01-10.
  15. ^ Department, NH Fish and Game. "Fowler's Toad | Nongame | New Hampshire Fish and Game Department". www.wildlife.state.nh.us. Retrieved 2021-01-10.
  16. ^ "Vermont Fish and Wildlife Department" (PDF). (PDF) from the original on 2021-03-08.

Further reading edit

  • Behler JL, King FW (1979). The Audubon Society Field Guide to North American Reptiles and Amphibians. New York: Alfred A. Knopf. 743 pp. ISBN 0-394-50824-6. (Bufo woodhousei fowleri, pp. 398–399 + Plate 248).
  • Hinckley, Mary H. (1882). "On Some Differences in the Mouth Structure of Tadpoles of the Anourous Batrachians of Milton, Mass." Proc. Boston Soc. Nat. Hist. 21: 307-315 + Plate 5. (Bufo fowleri, new species). (in English and French).
  • Powell R, Conant R, Collins JT (2016). Peterson Field Guide to Reptiles and Amphibians of Eastern and Central North America, Fourth Edition. Boston and New York: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. xiv + 494 pp. ISBN 978-0-544-12997-9. (Anaxyrus fowleri, pp. 120–121 + Plate 8 + Figure 54 on p. 117).
  • Zim HS, Smith HM (1956). Reptiles and Amphibians: A Guide to Familiar American Species: A Golden Nature Guide. Revised edition. New York: Simon and Schuster. 160 pp. (Bufo woodhousei fowleri, pp. 122–123, 157).

External links edit

 
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Anaxyrus fowleri.

May 05, 2024
anaxyrus, fowleri, fowler, toad, species, toad, family, bufonidae, species, native, north, america, where, occurs, much, eastern, united, states, parts, adjacent, canada, previously, considered, subspecies, woodhouse, toad, anaxyrus, woodhousii, formerly, bufo. Fowler s toad 3 Anaxyrus fowleri is a species of toad in the family Bufonidae The species is native to North America where it occurs in much of the eastern United States and parts of adjacent Canada 1 2 It was previously considered a subspecies of Woodhouse s toad Anaxyrus woodhousii formerly Bufo woodhousii 2 4 Fowler s toad Conservation status Least Concern IUCN 3 1 1 Scientific classification Domain Eukaryota Kingdom Animalia Phylum Chordata Class Amphibia Order Anura Family Bufonidae Genus Anaxyrus Species A fowleri Binomial name Anaxyrus fowleri Hinckley 1882 Synonyms 2 Bufo fowleri Hinckley 1882 Bufo lentiginosus fowleri Garman 1884 Bufo woodhousii fowleri H M Smith 1934 Bufo compactilis fowleri Linsdale 1940 Anaxyrus fowleri Frost et al 2006 Bufo Anaxyrus fowleri Fouquette amp Dubois fr 2014 Fowler s toad in leaf litter Contents 1 Etymology 2 Description 3 Range 4 Reproduction 5 Behavior 6 Habitat 7 Diet 8 Conservation status 9 References 10 Further reading 11 External linksEtymology editThe specific name fowleri is in honor of naturalist Samuel Page Fowler 1800 1888 from Massachusetts who was a founder of the Essex County Natural History Society which later became the Essex Institute 5 Description editThis section does not cite any sources Please help improve this section by adding citations to reliable sources Unsourced material may be challenged and removed Find sources Anaxyrus fowleri news newspapers books scholar JSTOR July 2023 Learn how and when to remove this message Fowler s toad is usually brown grey olive green and rust red in color with darkened warty spots If the toad has a pale stripe on its back it is an adult The belly is usually uniformly whitish except for one dark spot The male may be darker in overall color than the female The adult toad is typically 5 to 9 5 cm 2 0 to 3 7 in in head body length The tadpole is oval with a long tail and upper and lower fins and is 1 to 1 4 cm 0 39 to 0 55 in long Range editTheir native geographic range is eastern North America Their range extends throughout most of the southeastern and eastern United States and parts of southeastern Canada They reside in areas near temporary or permanent wetlands as well as forested areas Reproduction editFowler s toad reproduces in warmer seasons of the year especially in May and June It breeds in open shallow waters such as ponds lakeshores and marshes The male produces a call which attracts not only females but also other males The calling male may attempt to mate with one of the other males which will then produce a chirping release call informing him of his mistake It has been found that male Fowler s toads mating calls are affected by the body size and temperature of the caller Females are often able to discriminate between variations in these calls and select the largest available males 6 Males are able to alter their calls to make them seem more attractive to females through thermoregulation When a male finds a female the pair will initiate amplexus and up to 7 000 to 10 000 eggs are fertilized They hatch in 2 to 7 days Based on observations Fowler s toads breed repeatedly through the spring 7 As many as 10 different age classes separated by several days have been observed over the course of a breeding season in one small pond A new tadpole may reach sexual maturity in one season but the process may take up to three years Fowler s toad regularly hybridizes with two of its close relatives the American toad and the Woodhouse s toad The Woodhouse s toad subspecies Anaxyrus woodhousii velatus or the East Texas toad is possibly a hybrid of the Woodhouse s toad and the Fowler s toad 8 Behavior editPredators of Fowler s toad include snakes birds and small mammals It uses defensive coloration to blend into its surroundings It also secretes a noxious compound from the warts on its back The secretion containing toxic bufadienolides is distasteful to predators and can be lethal to small mammals 9 The toad is also known to play dead Habitat editFowler s toad lives in open woodlands sand prairies meadows and beaches It burrows into the ground during hot dry periods and during the winter They are often found hiding under broad leaved plants amidst clumps of grass and inside or under logs 10 Their springtime emergence is associated with increased temperature relatively little rainfall or wind and a gibbous moon 11 Diet editThe adult Fowler s toad eats insects and other small terrestrial invertebrates but avoids earthworms unlike its close relative the American toad Anaxyrus americanus This toad also has been shown to eat velvet ants which is a wasp that gives a very painful sting to humans but does nothing to the toad 12 The tadpole scrapes algae and bacterial mats from rocks and plants using the tooth like structures in its mouth nbsp In Missouri OzarksConservation status editAn important conservation measure for Fowler s toad is the protection of its breeding sites Off road vehicles commonly used in beach and dune habitats are damaging to this species Agricultural chemicals have caused declines in some areas These factors along with specific habitat requirements and excessive human activity within these habitats produces permanent local extinctions 13 It is considered a species at risk in Ontario 4 a species of special concern in the U S state of New Jersey 14 and a regionally threatened or endangered species in the states of New Hampshire 15 and Vermont 16 References edit a b IUCN SSC Amphibian Specialist Group 2022 Anaxyrus fowleri IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2022 e T54640A196333508 doi 10 2305 IUCN UK 2022 1 RLTS T54640A196333508 en Retrieved 12 May 2023 a b c Frost Darrel R 2023 Anaxyrus fowleri Hinckley 1882 Amphibian Species of the World An Online Reference Version 6 1 American Museum of Natural History Retrieved 4 May 2023 Crother Brian I SSAR HERPETOLOGICAL CIRCULAR NO 43 Scientific and Standard English Names of Amphibians and Reptiles of North America North of Mexico with Comments Regarding Confidence in Our Understanding Society for the Study of Amphibians and Reptiles Topeka KS 2017 p 9 a b Fowler s Toad Archived September 13 2010 at the Wayback Machine Natural Resources Canada Dodd C Kenneth 2013 Frogs of the United States and Canada Baltimore Johns Hopkins University Press 1 032 pp in two volumes ISBN 978 1421406336 Fairchild Lincoln 22 May 1981 Mate Selection and Behavioral Thermoregulation in Fowler s Toads Science 212 4497 950 951 Bibcode 1981Sci 212 950F doi 10 1126 science 212 4497 950 PMID 17830192 Volpe E Peter September 1955 Intensity of Reproductive Isolation between Sympatric and Allopatric Populations of Bufo americanus and Bufo fowleri The American Naturalist 89 848 303 317 doi 10 1086 281895 S2CID 85405593 Sullivan Brian K Malmos Keith B Given Mac F 16 May 1996 Systematics of the Bufo woodhousii Complex Anura Bufonidae Advertisement Call Variation Copeia 1996 2 274 280 doi 10 2307 1446843 JSTOR 1446843 Hutchinson Deborah Savitzky Alan Mori Akira Burghardt Gordon Meinwold Jerrold Schroeder Frank 1 May 2011 Chemical investigations of defensive steroid sequestration by the Asian snake Rhabdophis tigrinus Chemoecology 22 3 199 206 doi 10 1007 s00049 011 0078 2 Retrieved 15 May 2023 Boenke Morgan 2012 Terrestrial habitat and ecology of Fowler s toads Anaxyrus fowleri MSc thesis McGill University ISBN 978 0 494 84140 2 ProQuest 1034740462 Green Taylor Das Elizabeth Green David M 2016 Springtime Emergence of Overwintering Toads Anaxyrus fowleri in Relation to Environmental Factors Copeia 104 2 393 401 doi 10 1643 ce 15 323 S2CID 88626886 Mergler Ciara J Gall Brian G 2 January 2021 Has the indestructible insect met its match Velvet ants as prey to bufonid toads Ethology Ecology amp Evolution 33 1 15 24 doi 10 1080 03949370 2020 1789747 S2CID 225392620 Breden Felix 1988 Natural history and ecology of Fowler s toad Bufo woodhousei fowleri Amphibia Bufonidae in the Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore Fieldiana Zoology New Series 49 1 16 doi 10 5962 bhl title 3129 Wildlife Field Guide for New Jersey s Endangered and Threatened Species Conserve Wildlife Foundation of New Jersey www conservewildlifenj org Retrieved 2021 01 10 Department NH Fish and Game Fowler s Toad Nongame New Hampshire Fish and Game Department www wildlife state nh us Retrieved 2021 01 10 Vermont Fish and Wildlife Department PDF Archived PDF from the original on 2021 03 08 Further reading editBehler JL King FW 1979 The Audubon Society Field Guide to North American Reptiles and Amphibians New York Alfred A Knopf 743 pp ISBN 0 394 50824 6 Bufo woodhousei fowleri pp 398 399 Plate 248 Hinckley Mary H 1882 On Some Differences in the Mouth Structure of Tadpoles of the Anourous Batrachians of Milton Mass Proc Boston Soc Nat Hist 21 307 315 Plate 5 Bufo fowleri new species in English and French Powell R Conant R Collins JT 2016 Peterson Field Guide to Reptiles and Amphibians of Eastern and Central North America Fourth Edition Boston and New York Houghton Mifflin Harcourt xiv 494 pp ISBN 978 0 544 12997 9 Anaxyrus fowleri pp 120 121 Plate 8 Figure 54 on p 117 Zim HS Smith HM 1956 Reptiles and Amphibians A Guide to Familiar American Species A Golden Nature Guide Revised edition New York Simon and Schuster 160 pp Bufo woodhousei fowleri pp 122 123 157 External links edit nbsp Wikimedia Commons has media related to Anaxyrus fowleri Fowler s Toad Royal Ontario Museum Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Anaxyrus fowleri amp oldid 1170327568, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

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