Anaxyrus monfontanus
(Gordon, Simandle, Sandmeier, and Tracy, 2020)
AH-naks-EE-rus — mon-FON-tan-us
SSAR 9th Edition Comments:
This isolated population was diagnosed with respect to other taxa and populations in the A. boreas group using morphology and mitochondrial DNA data. See comments under A. boreas
(Mendelson, Joseph R., III, Darrel R. Frost, Emily Moriarty Lemmon, and Maureen A. Donnelly. 2025. Anura – Frogs. Pages 1-9 in Kirsten E. Nicholson (Editor), Scientific and Standard English Names of Amphibians and Reptiles of North America North of Mexico, with Comments Regarding Confidence in Our Understanding, 9th Edition. Society for the Study of Amphibians and Reptiles, Lawrence, Kansas. 87 pp.)
Range maps are based on curated specimens and provided gratis by CNAH.
(Created by Travis W. Taggart; Version: 2023.04.08.10.03.27)
Download GeoJSON polygon range file: - 0.01 MB
Province/State Distribution:
United States: Nevada
Taxonomic Etymology:
The name combines a Greek-derived genus name with a Latinized species epithet referencing a specific geographic location:
Anaxyrus —
From Greek:
ἀνάξ (anax) = “lord” or “king”. Anaxyrus means “noble toad” or “lordly toad,” reflecting its perceived prominence among North American toads.
monfontanus —
From Latin roots:
mons, montis = “mountain”
fontanus = “of a spring” or “spring-dwelling”. monfontanus means something like “from the mountain springs” or “spring-dwelling in the mountains.”
However, in this case, it more specifically refers to the Spring Mountains of southern Nevada, where this species is endemic. The name is a Latinized form of Mount Springs or Spring Mountains.
First instance(s) of published English names:
No historic English names have been assigned to this taxon yet.
Catalog of American Amphibians and Reptiles
Amphibian Species of the World
GenBank
USGS - Nonindigenous Aquatic Species Database
Selected References:
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2004
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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
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2008
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Pauly, Gregory B. Phylogenetic systematics, historical biogeography, and the evolution of vocalizations in Nearctic toads (Bufo). Dissertation. University of Texas, Austin. 165pp.
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2020
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Gordon, Michelle R., Eric T. Simandle, Franziska C. Sandmeier, and C. Richard Tracy. Two new cryptic endemic toads of Bufo discovered in central Nevada, western United States (Amphibia: Bufonidae: Bufo [Anaxyrus]). Copeia 108(1):166-183
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2023
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Dodd, C. Kenneth. Frogs of the United States and Canada. Second Edition. John Hopkins University Press, Baltimore, Maryland. 1032pp.
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