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Texas Toad (1 Viewer)
- Thread starter aaron1956
- Start date
Mike Richardson
Formerly known as Skink1978
It's a Spadefoot Toad, possibly Eastern Spadefoot (Scaphiopus holbrookii holbrooki) although a couple of other Spadefoots are in range.
RJP
Well-known member
I agree with Mike - no parotoid glands and a vertical eye pupil make this a Spadefoot. My source shows Corpus Christi well out of the range of the Eastern Spadefood Scaphiopus holbrookii holbrookii, but within the range of a sub-species called Hurter's Spadefoot Scaphiopus holbrookii hurterii. It's also in the range of Couch's Spadefoot Scaphiopus couchii, but the color is really wrong for that species.
The book I'm using says that Hurter's "may vary from grayish green to a chocolate- or greenish brown, to almost black". So this is OK on overall color. An odd thing, though is that both Eastern and Hurter's toads normally have two light stripes, one originating at each eye, and running down the back. However, a different book says they "often" have these stripes, implying it doesn't rule out the ID if the stripes are not there.
The book I'm using says that Hurter's "may vary from grayish green to a chocolate- or greenish brown, to almost black". So this is OK on overall color. An odd thing, though is that both Eastern and Hurter's toads normally have two light stripes, one originating at each eye, and running down the back. However, a different book says they "often" have these stripes, implying it doesn't rule out the ID if the stripes are not there.
Farnboro John
Well-known member
Thanks for the replies! I went out birding yesterday and walked up on it sitting in the middle of an asphalt hiking trail. I gave it a little nudge with my foot and it didn't even hop off. A new one for me to scratch off my lifer list. Oh wait, that's birds!
List everything. The new term for it is pan-species listing (really truly and I ain't even lyin' OK?)
Be warned: it can get expensive if you start to take it seriously.....
John
