THE CENTER FOR NORTH AMERICAN HERPETOLOGY


Amphibia    Anura    Bufonidae  

American Toad
Anaxyrus americanus (Holbrook, 1836)

SSAR 9th Edition Comments:
The taxon remains insufficiently studied and evidence for its distinction from several species is unclear; see comments under A. baxteri, A. fowleri, A. hemiophrys, A. terrestris, and A. woodhousii. The status of A. a. charlesmithi (as a full species or subspecies) would benefit from additional study and fine scale geographic sampling.

Range maps are based on curated specimens and provided gratis by CNAH.
(Created by Travis W. Taggart; Version: 2023.04.08.09.54.46)
Download GeoJSON polygon range file: - 9.68 MB

First instance(s) of published English names:
Common Toad (Bufo americanus: Storer, D. H. 1839. Reports on the Ichthyology and Herpetology of Massachusetts. Reports on the Fishes, Reptiles and Birds of Massachusetts. Published Agreeably to an Order of the Legislature, by the Commissioners on the Zoological and Botanical Survey of the State. Dutton and Wentworth, State Printers, Boston, Massachusetts. pp.); Common American Toad (Bufo americanus: De Kay, James E. 1842. Zoology of New-York, or, The New-York Fauna: Comprising Detailed Descriptions of All the Animals Hitherto Observed within the State of New-York, with Brief Notices of those Occasionally Found Near its Borders, and Accompanied by Appropriate Illustrations. Volume 1, Part 3 (Reptiles and Amphibians). W. & A. White & J. Visscher, Albany, New York. pp.); American Toad (Bufo lentiginosus: Jordan, David Starr. 1876. Manual of the Vertebrates of the Northern United States: Including the District East of the Mississippi River, and North of North Carolina and Tennessee, Exclusive of Marine Species. Jansen, McClurg, and Company, Chicago, Illinois.. 342pp.); American Toad (Bufo lentiginosus americanus: Yarrow, Henry C. 1876. List of Skeletons and Crania in the Section of Comparative Anatomy of the United States Army Medical Museum for use during the International Exhibition of 1876 in Connection with the Representation of the Medical Department U.S. Army. Army Medical Museum, Washington, D. C. pp.); American Toad (Bufo lentiginosus: Jordan, David S. 1878. Manual of the Vertebrates of the Northern United States: Including the District East of the Mississippi River, and North of North Carolina and Tennessee, Exclusive of Marine Species. Second Edition, Revised, and Enlarged. Jansen, McClurg & Company, Chicago. pp.); Cope's Toad (Bufo copeii: Yarrow, Henry C. 1882. Check list of North American Reptilia and Batrachia with catalogue of specimens in U. S. National Museum. Bulletin of the United States National Museum (24):1-249); American Toad (Bufo lentiginosus americanus: Yarrow, Henry C. 1882. Check list of North American Reptilia and Batrachia with catalogue of specimens in U. S. National Museum. Bulletin of the United States National Museum (24):1-249); Common Toad (Bufo lentiginosus: Davis, N. S., and Frank L. Rice. 1883. List of Batrachia and Reptilia of Illinois. Bulletin of the Chicago Academy of Sciences 1(3):25–32); Common Toad (Bufo lentiginosus americanus: Davis, N. S. Jr. and Frank L. Rice. 1883. Descriptive catalogue of North American batrachia and reptilia, found east of Mississippi River. Illinois Natural History Survey Bulletin 1(5):71); American Toad (Bufo lentiginosus: Garman, H. 1892. A synopsis of the reptiles and amphibians of Illinois. Illinois Laboratory of Natural History Bulletin 3():215-403); Toad (Bufo lentiginosus: Hay, Oliver P. 1892. Batrachians and Reptiles of the State of Indiana. Pages 409-624 in 17th Annual Report of the Indiana Department of Geology and Natural Resources, William B. Burford, Printer and Binder, Indianapolis, Indiana. pp.); Northern Toad (Bufo lentiginosus americanus: Rhoads, Samuel N. 1895. Contributions to the zoology of Tennessee. No. 1, Reptiles and amphibians. Proceedings of the Academy of Natural Sciences, Philadelphia 47():376-407); Common Toad (Bufo lentiginosus americanus: Beyer, George. 1900. Louisana herpetology. Proceedings of the Louisiana Society of Naturalists 1897-1899():24-46); Common Toad (Bufo lentiginosus: Fowler, Henry W. 1907. The amphibians and reptiles of New Jersey. MacCrellish and Quigley, Trenton, N. J.. 29-250pp.); Hop Toad (Bufo lentiginosus: Fowler, Henry W. 1907. The amphibians and reptiles of New Jersey. MacCrellish and Quigley, Trenton, N. J.. 29-250pp.); American Toad (Bufo americanus: Stejneger, Leonhard H. and Thomas Barbour. 1917. A Checklist of North American Amphibians and Reptiles. Harvard University Press, Cambridge, Massachusetts. pp.); Hop Toad (: Wright, Anna Allen, and Alex Hazen Wright. 1933. Handbook of frogs and toads. The frogs and toads of the United States and Canada Comstock Publishing Associates, Ithaca, NY. xi+231pp.); Hudson Bay American Toad (: Wright, Anna Allen, and Alex Hazen Wright. 1933. Handbook of frogs and toads. The frogs and toads of the United States and Canada Comstock Publishing Associates, Ithaca, NY. xi+231pp.); American Toad (Bufo americanus americanus: Wright, Anna Allen, and Alex Hazen Wright. 1933. Handbook of frogs and toads. The frogs and toads of the United States and Canada Comstock Publishing Associates, Ithaca, NY. xi+231pp.); Northern Toad (Bufo americanus americanus: Wright, Anna Allen, and Alex Hazen Wright. 1933. Handbook of frogs and toads. The frogs and toads of the United States and Canada Comstock Publishing Associates, Ithaca, NY. xi+231pp.); Hop Toad (Bufo americanus americanus: Wright, Anna Allen, and Alex Hazen Wright. 1933. Handbook of frogs and toads. The frogs and toads of the United States and Canada Comstock Publishing Associates, Ithaca, NY. xi+231pp.); Hudson Bay American Toad (Bufo americanus copei: Wright, Anna Allen, and Alex Hazen Wright. 1933. Handbook of frogs and toads. The frogs and toads of the United States and Canada Comstock Publishing Associates, Ithaca, NY. xi+231pp.); Common American Toad (Bufo terrestris: Schmidt, Karl P. 1953. A Check List of North American Amphibians and Reptiles. 6th Edition. University of Chicago Press, Chicago, Illinois. 280pp.); American Toad (Bufo terrestris: Schmidt, Karl P. 1953. A Check List of North American Amphibians and Reptiles. 6th Edition. University of Chicago Press, Chicago, Illinois. 280pp.); American Toad (Bufo terrestris americanus: Schmidt, Karl P. 1953. A Check List of North American Amphibians and Reptiles. 6th Edition. University of Chicago Press, Chicago, Illinois. 280pp.); Hudson Bay Toad (Bufo terrestris copei: Schmidt, Karl P. 1953. A Check List of North American Amphibians and Reptiles. 6th Edition. University of Chicago Press, Chicago, Illinois. 280pp.); Dwarf American Toad (Bufo americanus charlesmithi: Conant, Roger, Fred R. Cagle, Coleman J. Goin, Charles H. Lowe, Wilfred T. Neill, M. Graham Netting, Karl P. Schmidt, Charles E. Shaw, Robert C. Stebbins, and Charles M. Bogert. 1956. Common names for North American amphibians and reptiles. Copeia 1956(3):172-185); Eastern American Toad (Bufo americanus: Collins, Joseph T., James E. Huheey, James L. Knight, and Hobart M. Smith. 1978. Standard common and current scientific names for North American amphibians and reptiles. Herpetological Circulars (7):36); American Toad (Anaxyrus americanus: Frost, Darrel R., Roy W. McDiarmid, Joseph R. Mendelson III, and David M. Green. 2012. Anura - Frogs. Pages 11-22 in Society for the Study of Amphibians and Reptiles, Herpetological Circular No. 39. pp.); Eastern American Toad (Anaxyrus americanus americanus: Frost, Darrel R., Roy W. McDiarmid, Joseph R. Mendelson III, and David M. Green. 2012. Anura - Frogs. Pages 11-22 in Society for the Study of Amphibians and Reptiles, Herpetological Circular No. 39. pp.); Dwarf American Toad (Anaxyrus americanus charlesmithi: Frost, Darrel R., Roy W. McDiarmid, Joseph R. Mendelson III, and David M. Green. 2012. Anura - Frogs. Pages 11-22 in Society for the Study of Amphibians and Reptiles, Herpetological Circular No. 39. pp.);

Taxon Links:

  
Catalog of American Amphibians and Reptiles
  
Amphibian Species of the World
  
NatureServe
  
iNaturalist
  
GenBank
  
USGS - Nonindigenous Aquatic Species Database

Selected References:
1836 Holbrook, John E. North American Herpetology; or, a Description of the Reptiles Inhabiting the United States. Volume 1. J. Dobson, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. 120pp.
1931 Myers, George S. The original descriptions of Bufo fowleri and Bufo americanus. Copeia 1931(3):94-96
1932 Gaige, Helen T. The status of Bufo copei. Copeia 1932(3):134
1939 Bragg, Arthur N. Dwarf Bufo americanus americanus from Cleveland County, Oklahoma. Proceedings of the Oklahoma Academy of Science 20:75-76
1943 Blair, Albert P. Geographical variation of ventral markings of toads. American Midland Naturalist 29(2):615-620
1947 Blair, Albert P. Variation of two characters in Bufo fowleri and Bufo americanus. American Museum Novitates (1343):1-5
1954 Bragg, Arthur N. Bufo terrestris charlesmithi, a new subspecies from Oklahoma Wasmann Journal of Biology 12(2):245
1955 Bragg, Arthur N. Location of the types of Bufo terrestris charlesmithi. Herpetologica 11(2):151
1958 Bragg, Arthur N.. The eggs of the Dwarf American toad. Herpetologica 13(4):273-275
1963 Blair, W. Frank. Intragroup genetic compatibility in the Bufo americanus species group of toads. Texas Journal of Science 15(1):15-34
1964 Sanders, Ottys and J. C. Cross. Relationships between certain North American toads as shown by cytological study. Herpetologica 19(4):248-255
1968 Zweifel, Richard G. Effects of temperature, body size, and hybridization on mating calls of toads, Bufo a.americanus and Bufo woodhousei fowleri. Copeia 1968(2):269-285
1973 Ashton, Ray E., Jr., Sheldon I. Guttman, and Peter Buckley. Notes on the distribution, coloration, and breeding of the Hudson Bay toad, Bufo americanus copei (Yarrow and Henshaw). Journal of Herpetology 7(1):17-20
1973 Martin, R. F. Osteology of North American Bufo: The americanus, cognatus, and boreas species groups. Herpetologica 29(4):375-387
1991 Collins, Joseph T. Amphibians and reptiles in the upper Mississippi river valley: Systematic and distributional problems. Journal of the Tennessee Academy of Science 66(4):149-152
1996 Green, David M. The bounds of species: Hybridization in the Bufo americanus group of North American toads. Israel Journal of Zoology 42:95-109
1997 Green, David M. and Cory Pustowka. Correlated morphological and allozyme variation in the hybridizing toads Bufo americanus and Bufo hemiophrys. Herpetologica 53(2):218-228
2002 Masta, Susan E., Brian K. Sullivan, Trip Lamb, and Eric J. Routman. Molecular systematics, hybridization, and phylogeography of the Bufo americanus complex in eastern North America. Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 24:302-314
2003 Green, David M. and Christine Parent. Variable and asymmetric introgression in a hybrid zone in the toads Bufo americanus and Bufo fowleri. Copeia 2003(1):34-43
2004 Pauly, Gregory B., David M. Hillis, and David C. Cannatella. The history of a Nearctic colonization: Molecular phylogenetics and biogeography of the Nearctic toads (Bufo). Evolution 58:2517-2535
2008 Pauly, Gregory B. Phylogenetic systematics, historical biogeography, and the evolution of vocalizations in Nearctic toads (Bufo). Dissertation. University of Texas, Austin. 165pp.
2016 Peralta-Garcia, Anny, Dean H. Leavitt, Bradford D. Hollingsworth, and Tod W. Reeder. The phylogenetic position of the Little Mexican Toad, Anaxyrus kelloggi, using molecular data. Journal of Herpetology 50(3):471-475

THE CENTER FOR NORTH AMERICAN HERPETOLOGY — Accessed: Monday 21 April 2025 13:11 CT