THE CENTER FOR NORTH AMERICAN HERPETOLOGY

Amphibia    Anura    Bufonidae  

Western Toad
Anaxyrus boreas (Baird and Girard, 1852)

Current SSAR Comments:
The English name of Boreal Toad is sometimes used broadly for this taxon, especially for populations sometimes referred to A. b. boreas (Baird and Girard, 1852), and refer Western Toad to A. b. halophilus. Two subspecies (A. b. boreas, A. b. halophilus) have been inconsistently recognized historically and we do not recognize them here given the substantial need for additional taxonomic work on this complex. The A. boreas group generally is considered to include a number of isolated populations that appear to be diagnosable as species. Some have been recognized as species and/or subspecies and others have no history of taxonomic recognition. From this complex, A. canorus, A. exsul, and A. nelsoni are now generally accepted, and three additional allopatric populations have been named as species (A. monfontanus, A. nevadensis, and A. williamsi) recently have been described. Nevertheless, issues raised in older works by Cook (1983, Publications in Natural Sciences. National Museum of Canada: 89), Goebel (2005, in Lannoo, M. [editor], Amphibian Declines, University California Press: 210–211), Pauly (2008, Ph.D. dissertation, University of Texas at Austin), and Goebel et al. (2009, Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution, 50: 209–225), using genetics, morphology, and advertisement calls, suggest that additional diversity remains unrecognized. The published genetic data used to investigate this group has been restricted to mitochondrial sequences, which have proven to be problematic in general (Dufresnes and Jablonski, 2022, Science 377: 127), and this complex is no exception. In such approaches, for example, the mitochondrial network and phylogenetic analyses of by Gordon et al. (2017, Zootaxa 4290: 123–139) found A. boreas to be paraphyletic with respect to A. canorus, A. exsul, and A. nelsoni. Their work also suggests that the subspecies A. b. boreas and A. b. halophilus may be valid species, but Goebel et al. (op. cit.) found A. b. halophilus to be polyphyletic within the broader A. boreas group. A comprehensive review of the A. boreas group that includes nuclear DNA and dense geographic sampling is needed and likely will reveal a complex evolutionary history, and corresponding taxonomy, for this group that spans a considerably large and complex geographic region.

Range maps are based on curated specimens and provided gratis by CNAH.
(Created by Travis W. Taggart; Version: 2023.12.13.12.46.16)
Download GeoJSON polygon range file: - 3.25 MB

First instance(s) of published English names:
Columbia Toad (Bufo columbiensis: Cooper, James G., George Suckley, William Cooper, George Gibbs, Asa Gray, and John L. Le Conte. 1859. The natural history of Washington territory, with much relating to Minnesota, Nebraska, Kansas, Oregon, and California, between the thirty-sixth and forty-ninth parallels of latitude, being those parts of the final reports on the survey of the Northern Pacific railroad route, containing the climate and physical geography, with full catalogues and descriptions of the plants and animals collected from 1853 to 1857. Bailliere Bros., London, H. Bailliere;, New York, New York. pp.); Salt-marsh Frog (Bufo halophila: Cooper, James G. 1869. The fauna of California and its geographical distribution. Proceedings of the California Academy of Sciences 4():61-81); Baird's Toad (Bufo halophilus: 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); Painted Toad (Bufo pictus: 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); California Toad (: Dickerson, Mary C. 1906. The Frog Book; North American Toads and Frogs, with Study of the Habits and Life Histories of Those of the Northeastern States. Doubleday, Page & Company, New York, New York. 253pp.); Northwestern Toad (: Storer, Tracy I. 1925. A synopsis of the amphibia of California. University of California Publications in Zoology (27):1-342); Marsh 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.); Western 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.); Mountain 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.); Small-spaded 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.); Northern Toad (Bufo boreas boreas: 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.); Small-spaded Toad (Bufo boreas boreas: 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.); Mountain Toad (Bufo boreas boreas: 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.); Northwestern Toad (Bufo boreas boreas: 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.); Western Toad (Bufo boreas boreas: 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.); California Toad (Bufo boreas halophilus: 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.); Salt-marsh Frog (Bufo boreas halophilus: 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 Toad (Bufo boreas halophilus: 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.); Baird's Toad (Bufo boreas halophilus: 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.); Western Toad (Bufo boreas: Schmidt, Karl P. 1953. A Check List of North American Amphibians and Reptiles. 6th Edition. University of Chicago Press, Chicago, Illinois. 280pp.); Columbian Toad (Bufo boreas boreas: Schmidt, Karl P. 1953. A Check List of North American Amphibians and Reptiles. 6th Edition. University of Chicago Press, Chicago, Illinois. 280pp.); Boreal Toad (Bufo boreas boreas: Schmidt, Karl P. 1953. A Check List of North American Amphibians and Reptiles. 6th Edition. University of Chicago Press, Chicago, Illinois. 280pp.); Alkali Toad (Bufo boreas halophilus: Schmidt, Karl P. 1953. A Check List of North American Amphibians and Reptiles. 6th Edition. University of Chicago Press, Chicago, Illinois. 280pp.); Southern California Toad (: Frost, Darrel R., Roy W. McDiarmid, and Joseph R. Mendelson, III. 2008. Anura: Frogs. Pages 42778 in Society for the Study of Amphibians and Reptiles, Herpetological Circular No. 37. pp.); Western Toad (Anaxyrus boreas: 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

Pertinent LIterature:
1852 Baird, Spencer F. and Charles Girard. Descriptions of new species of reptiles, collected by the U. S. Exploring Expedition under the command of Capt. Charles Wilkes, U. S. N., First Part including the species from the western part of America. Proceedings of the Academy of Natural Sciences, Philadelphia 6():174-177
1963 Schuierer, F. W. Notes on two populations of Bufo exsul Myers and a commentary on speciation within the Bufo boreas group. Herpetologica 18():262–267
1983 Cook, F. R. An analysis of toads of the Bufo americanus group in a contact zone in central northern North America. Publications in Natural Sciences. National Museum of Canada (3):89
2005 Lannoo, Michael (Editor) Amphibian Declines: The Conservation Status of United States Species. University fo California Press, Berkeley. 1115pp.
2013 Dodd, C. Kenneth. Frogs of the United States and Canada. John Hopkins University Press, Baltimore, Maryland. 982pp.
2023 Dodd, C. Kenneth. Frogs of the United States and Canada. Second Edition. John Hopkins University Press, Baltimore, Maryland. 1032pp.

THE CENTER FOR NORTH AMERICAN HERPETOLOGY — Accessed: Thursday 30 January 2025 02:01 CT