American spadefoot toads

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American Spadefoot Toads
Western Spadefoot Toad (Spea hammondii)
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia Phylum: Chordata Class: Amphibia Order: Anura Suborder: Mesobatrachia Family: Scaphiopodidae Cope, 1865
Distribution of Scaphiopodidae (in black)
Genera
Scaphiopus Spea

American spadefoot toads, Scaphiopodidae, are a toad family of order Anura, native to southern Canada and USA south to southern Mexico. Scaphiopodidae is a small family, comprising of only seven species.

The American spadefoot toads are of typical shape to most fossorial (or burrowing) frogs. They are round, with short legs and protruding eyes. As suggested by their name, this frog has hard, keratinous protrusion present on their feet, which helps them to dig. Like most fossorial frogs, they will dig backwards into the ground.

The American spadefoot toads are terrestrial when not under ground. They are dully coloured, usually a grey or dull green or brown. This is to aid in camouflage in their arid habitats.

[edit] Taxonomy

This family was previously included in the European spadefoot toad family, but has been split into two families. Pelobatidae includes the Pelobates genus, and Scaphiopodidae the rest.^[1]

• Southern Spadefoot Toads, Scaphiopus (Holbrook, 1836)
• Western Spadefoot Toads, Spea (Cope, 1866)

[edit] References

1. ^ Amphibian Species of the World - Pelobatidae Bonaparte, 1850. Retrieved on 2006-05-12.

• Scaphiopodidae (Cope, 1865) American Spadefoot Toads. Retrieved on 2006-05-12.

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