Questions about these NM monsoonal frogs (Albuquerque: live, shop, garden)

[Santa Fe]

We had frogs or toads here in northern Santa Fe county that came out during the wet season. But they came out in the day and did not make a lot of noise that I noticed. They were brown and more normal looking than that fat little fellow in the photo.

I saw one sitting partly on a yellow leaf and that part of him/her turned green.

Anybody know what they are or their habits?

[HerpsofNM]

Townandcountrygal and others...

You might find the following useful.

First is my personal site dedicated to reptiles and amphibians of NM, or more suitably called: Herpetofauna of NM. The site is missing detailed data, but is fuctional photographically.

Next up is Reptiles of Arizona. Some of the reptiles and amphibians are also native to NM and detailed accounts are available. Some frog/toad profiles contain recorded callings.

Lastly, there is AmphibiaWeb where you can enter search terms (assuming you know genus/species/common name/etc) and some frog & toad profiles contain recorded callings also.

Enjoy,
Chris Newsom
Former Museum Naturalist of Las Cruces Museum of Natural History
Herpetofauna of New Mexico

[nu66ie]

After our last monsoon storm the frogs were everywhere. Our neighbors cat had one cornered so I rescued it. He ended up spending the next day in front of a camera. I have been feeding him crickets and will be taking him down south to release him in the Bosque. My cat got a real treat from him being here. Here is a pix of him. You can see more at his gallery. [URL]http://weatherpix.us/galleries/Froggie/album/slides/On%20The%20Lookout.jpg[/URL]

http://weatherpix.us/galleries/Frogg...%20Lookout.jpg

[Cathy4017]

That's a neat toad, probably a spadefoot!

[HerpsofNM]

Originally Posted by Cathy4017

That's a neat toad, probably a spadefoot!

The cranial crest (ridge between the eyes) and pupil orientation (horizontal instead of vertical) keys this guy out as not a spadefoot species. Looking through nu66ie's gallery (Froggie, a Couch's Spadefoot) allows me to further key the toad out to Southwestern Woodhouse's Toad (Anaxyrus [Bufo] woodhousii australis) based upon the lack of a defined, symmentric dorsal pattern and the presence of a dorsal stripe.

Additional photos from nu66ie's gallery...




Here's a Southwestern Woodhouse Toad from off of Highway 60, near the Rio Grande.


nu66ie has the gallery labeled "Froggie, a Couch's Spadefoot"....for comparison purposes here's some Couch's Spadefoot photos I have posted to the Herps of NM website I talked about 2 replies above.


Female from off of Highway 60, about 5 miles west of the Highway 47 intersection.


Female from out near the Sierra de Las Uvas in NW Doña Ana County.


Young female from Highway 61 (road to City of Rocks State Park).

Here's a male from ReptilesofAZ.com




Please don't take him south to the Bosque for release. As admirable as you, I, or others think this may be it can actually be of negative results.

• Due to the time of year and temperatures, the toad does not know this new area resulting in death from not knowing where to seek shelter from climatic conditions.
• Will not know where to seek shelter to avoid predation.
• It has been in captivity and as such their are increased chances of potential pathogen introduction to an area that may possibly be void of such disease. This is one of MANY means of how chytrid fungus is spread(ing). chytrid fungus - Google Search
• Your best, safest, most humane thing to do is either keep it captive or release it back to your yard/where you found it. And dispose of the neighbor's outside kitty. (that's a whole other argument, my 2 cats are strictly kept indoors...I don't know about Albuquerque, but Las Cruces has a leash law for cats. As a biologist and pre-biology education I've seen first-hand what feral [even if one's pet] cats destructively do to smaller prey....let the flaming begin)

[nu66ie]

HerpsofNM,

Thank you so very much for the info. I spent days trying to have this frog identified and after many email swaps with apparent experts and local pet shops, the consensus was he was a Spadefoot Toad. Your examples make the differences easy to see. I wish I would have come here first...

The experts also recommended to take him down south to he bosque where the ground is softer and he could burrow in. Your right, he would not be familiar with the new surroundings and not be a good choice. Your advice makes allot of sense and I will take it gratefully.

One guy at one of the pet shops sounded eager to take him but then I realized he also had giant snakes and then the whole frog being snake food idea settled in and that was the end of that.

I guess I now have a pet frog for the long haul. I will update his gallery with the correct information. And I agree about the cats and the smaller prey issue. No flaming from me. My cat too lives indoors and the outside cats drive her nuts sometimes. I often find her napping by Froggie's home. It's cute and I know she is just waiting for the frog to get out so she can attack it.

Thanks again HerpsofNM for the information.

[Townandcountrygal]

Great photos of these toads! But they don't look much like the spadefoots in my puddles.

[HerpsofNM]

Originally Posted by Townandcountrygal

Great photos of these toads! But they don't look much like the spadefoots in my puddles.

In your recent rattler post I replied to I'm assuming you live in Cibola County.

You'll have Plains Spadefoot Toads (Spea bombifrons) and New Mexican (or Mexican, depending on the source) Spadefoot Toads (Spea multiplicata). Technically speaking, they aren't toads, but frogs. But I'll avoid that aspect.

The key difference, outside of hearing the males' vocal call, between the 2 is what's called a boss. In this case, a boss is rasied area, gladular or bony, that is centered on the head betwen the eyes. It can be hard to see at times, but only the Plains Spadefoot has this. In areas where the 2 species overlap there can be hybridization and this characteristic, among others, can make IDing tough.

Plains Spadefoot Toad


New Mexico Spadefoot Toad


I think I have some unedited photos from this year that might offer better examples of the 2 species.

[Townandcountrygal]

Originally Posted by HerpsofNM

In your recent rattler post I replied to I'm assuming you live in Cibola County.

You'll have Plains Spadefoot Toads (Spea bombifrons) and New Mexican (or Mexican, depending on the source) Spadefoot Toads (Spea multiplicata). Technically speaking, they aren't toads, but frogs. But I'll avoid that aspect.

The key difference, outside of hearing the males' vocal call, between the 2 is what's called a boss. In this case, a boss is rasied area, gladular or bony, that is centered on the head betwen the eyes. It can be hard to see at times, but only the Plains Spadefoot has this. In areas where the 2 species overlap there can be hybridization and this characteristic, among others, can make IDing tough.

Plains Spadefoot Toad


New Mexico Spadefoot Toad


I think I have some unedited photos from this year that might offer better examples of the 2 species.

Thank you! I just re-read responses to my posts and see that you responded to both the rattlesnake and spadefoot "toad" questions. You're just the person I was hoping to have respond to my posts. I have some specific questions about the spadefoot toads: (Yes, I've read that technically they are not toads). About how many weeks does it take for one to mature enough to be able bury into the earth? Dozens on my property died in the late tadpole stage when my monsoonal puddles dried up. During years without heavy monsoons, do these toads just remain buried to a depth of up to 3 feet until a year when the monsoons are sufficient?

[Cathy4017]

Thanks for the ID and clarification.

But the spadefoot is actually really a frog?!? Sure doesn't look like one, but then, I'm no expert, as you already know, LOL!!

I just enjoy reptiles of all kinds, except venomous snakes.