THE CENTER FOR NORTH AMERICAN HERPETOLOGY

Amphibia    Anura    Bufonidae  

Arizona Toad
Anaxyrus microscaphus (Cope, 1866)

Current SSAR Comments:
Hybridizes extensively with A. woodhousii in portions of its range (e.g., Wooten et al., 2019, Journal of Herpetology, 53: 104–114.

Range maps are based on curated specimens and provided gratis by CNAH.
(Created by Travis W. Taggart; Version: 2024.01.27.10.39.29)
Download GeoJSON polygon range file: - 0.21 MB

Province/State Distribution:
USA: Arizona Nevada New Mexico Utah

First instance(s) of published English names:
Western Toad (Bufo microscaphus: 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.); Small Spaded Toad (Bufo microscaphus: 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); Cope Toad (: Stebbins, Robert C. 1951. Amphibians of western North America University of California Press, Berkeley. pp.); Southwestern Toad (Bufo microscaphus: Schmidt, Karl P. 1953. A Check List of North American Amphibians and Reptiles. 6th Edition. University of Chicago Press, Chicago, Illinois. 280pp.); Arizona Toad (Bufo microscaphus microscaphus: Schmidt, Karl P. 1953. A Check List of North American Amphibians and Reptiles. 6th Edition. University of Chicago Press, Chicago, Illinois. 280pp.); Fort Mojave Toad (Bufo microscaphus microscaphus: Schmidt, Karl P. 1953. A Check List of North American Amphibians and Reptiles. 6th Edition. University of Chicago Press, Chicago, Illinois. 280pp.); Arizona Toad (Anaxyrus microscaphus: 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:
1886 Cope, Edward D. Synonymic list of the North American species of Bufo and Rana, with descriptions of some new species of Batrachia, from specimens in the National Museum. Proceedings of the American Philosophical Society 23(124):514-526
1953 Shannon, Frederick A. Notes on the lectotype of Bufo woodhousi microscaphus with notes on the specific relationships of the toads. Herpetologica 9():182-183
1955 Blair, Albert P. Distribution, variation, and hybridization in a relict toad (Bufo microscaphus) in Southwestern Utah. American Museum Novitates (1722):1-38
1957 Blair, W. Frank. Structure of the call and relationships of Bufo microscaphus Cope. Copeia 1957(3):208-212
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 Cole, Charles J., Charles H. Lowe, and John W. Wright. Karyotypes of eight species of toads (genus Bufo) in North America. Copeia 1968(1):96-100
1988 Price, A. H., and B. K. Sullivan. Bufo microscaphus Cope. Southwestern Toad. Catalogue of American Amphibians and Reptiles (415):1–3
1991 Collins, Joseph T. Viewpoint: A new taxonomic arrangement for some North American amphibins and reptiles Herpetological Review 22(2):42-43
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
1996 Sullivan, Brian K., K. B. Malmos, and M. F. Given. Systematics of the Bufo woodhousii complex (Anura: Bufonidae): Advertisement call variation. Copeia 1996(2):274-280
1998 Gergus, Erik W. A. Systematics of the Bufo microscaphus complex: Allozyme evidence. Herpetologica 54(3):317-325
2000 Lamb, Trip, Brian K. Sullivan, and Keith Malmos. Mitochondrial gene markers for the hybridizing toads Bufo microscaphus and Bufo woodhousii in Arizona. Copeia 2000(1):234-237
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
2005 Lannoo, Michael (Editor) Amphibian Declines: The Conservation Status of United States Species. University fo California Press, Berkeley. 1115pp.
2008 Pauly, Gregory B. Phylogenetic systematics, historical biogeography, and the evolution of vocalizations in Nearctic toads (Bufo). Dissertation. University of Texas, Austin. 165pp.
2013 Dodd, C. Kenneth. Frogs of the United States and Canada. John Hopkins University Press, Baltimore, Maryland. 982pp.
2014 Crother, Brian I. The bold taxonomic hypotheses of Collins (1991): 23 years later. Herpetological Review 45(2):268-272
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
2019 Wooten, Jessica A., Brian K. Sullivan, Matthew R. Klooster, Terry D. Schwaner, Keith O. Sullivan, Alyssa D. Brown, Mizuki Takahashi, and Paul R. Bradford. Thirty years of hybridization between toads along the Agua Fria River in Arizona: Part II: Fine-scale assessment of genetic changes over time using microsatellites. Journal of Herpetology 53(2):104-114
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: Monday 24 March 2025 20:39 CT