- Arroyo toad
Taxobox | name = Arroyo toad
status = EN | status_system = IUCN3.1
trend = down
image_width = 240px
regnum =Animalia
phylum =Chordata
classis =Amphibia
ordo =Anura
familia =Bufonidae
genus = "Bufo "
species = "B. californicus"
binomial = "Bufo californicus"
binomial_authority = Camp, 1915
synonyms = "Anaxyrus californicus"The Arroyo toad ("Bufo californicus") is a stocky, blunt-nosed, warty-skinned species of
toad , between 5 and 7.5 cm long. It has horizontal pupils, and is greenish, grey or salmon on the dorsum with a light-colored stripe across the head and eyelids. It has light sacral and mid-dorsal patches, large, oval and widely-separatedparotoid gland s, and weak or absent cranial crests.The juvenile of this species are ashy-white, olive or salmon on the dorsal side, with or without black spotting. It has have red-tipped tubercles on its back.
It prefers sandy or cobbly washes with swift currents and associated upland and riparian habitats. It is active from March through September, but will be inactive even during that time in periods of cold or windy conditions. [Grismer, L. L. (2002). "Amphibians and Reptiles of Baja California." Los Angeles: University of California Press, 68.]
The Arroyo toad is evaluated as
Endangered on theIUCN Red List of Threatened Species.References
* (2004) The history of a Nearctic colonization: Molecular phylogenetics and biogeography of the Nearctic toads ("Bufo"). "Evolution" "58": 2517–2535.
* Database entry includes a range map and justification for why this species is endangered
* This article is based on a description from "A Field Guide to the Reptiles and Amphibians of Coastal Southern California", Robert N. Fisher and Ted J. Case, USGS, http://www.werc.usgs.gov/fieldguide/index.htm.
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