Florida's Frogs & Toads
True Toads (Family Bufonidae)
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Southern Toad
(Anaxyrus terrestris)
Southern Toad (click on comparison images to view larger )
Photos by Dr. Steve A. Johnson (UF). To obtain permission to use these photos for educational purposes, email tadpole@ufl.edu.
Size:
Usually 1.5 to 3 in. (max. ~4.5 in.)
Identification:
Body is tan to reddish brown, dark brown, or gray; back is marked with darker spots. Skin is warty; each dark spot contains one or two warts. Oval parotoid glands are present on the shoulders. Raised ridges on top of the head behind each eye end in prominent crests; ridges do not contact parotoid glands. Very young toads (inset image above) look much like adults, but it is nearly impossible to tell toad species apart at this size.
Breeding:
March to October; eggs are laid in strings wrapped around vegetation. Call is a combination of a hum and a whistle. To hear frog calls, visit the USGS Frog Call Lookup and select the species you want to hear from the common name drop-down list.
Diet:
Ants, bees, beetles, crickets, roaches, snails, and other invertebrates.
Habitats:
Found throughout Florida, with the exception of the upper Keys, burrowed in the soil or under cover objects in virtually any urbanized or natural terrestrial habitat. Breeds in a wide variety of freshwater habitats, both temporary and permanent.
Map by Monica E. McGarrity - may be used freely for education.
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