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Amphibia    Anura    Scaphiopodidae  

Mexican Spadefoot
Spea multiplicata (Cope, 1863)
SPEE-ah — mul-tee-PLIH-kah-tah

SSAR 9th Edition Comments:
 See comment under Spea hammondii. (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: 2023.04.10.13.21.19)
Download GeoJSON polygon range file: - 0.72 MB

Province/State Distribution:
United States: Arizona Colorado New Mexico Oklahoma Texas Utah

Taxonomic Etymology:
Named for its variable patterning and high intraspecific variation.
Spea — From Greek σπαθη (spathē) = “blade” or “spade”. Spea is a Latinized form referencing the keratinous spade-like projection on the hind feet, which these frogs use for burrowing.
multiplicata — From Latin multiplicatus, meaning “manifold” or “much-varied.” Refers to the species’ wide range of dorsal pattern and color variation across its distribution.

First instance(s) of published English names:
Many-ribbed Spea (Spea multiplicata: 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); New Mexican Spea (Spea stagnalis: 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);

Taxon Links:

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

Selected References:
1863 Cope, Edward D. On Trachycephalus and Scaphiopus and other batrachia. Proceedings of the Academy of Natural Sciences, Philadelphia 15:43-54
1939 Tanner, Vasco M. A study of the genus Scaphiopus. Western North American Naturalist 1(1):3-26
1956 Chrapliwy, Pete S. Taxonomy and distribution of the spadefoot toads of North America (Salientia: Pelobatidae). Thesis. University of Kansas, Lawrence. 131pp.
1957 Wasserman, Aaron O. Factors affecting interbreeding in sympatric species of spadefoots (genus Scaphiopus). Evolution 11(3):320-338
1967 Brown, Herbert A. Embryonic temperature adaptations and genetic compatibility in two allopatric populations of the spadefoot toads (genus Scaphiopus). Los Angeles County Museum Contributions in Science (286):1-15
1976 Brown, Herbert A. The status of California and Arizona populations of the western spadefoot toads (genus Scaphiopus). Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County, Contributions in Science (286):1-14
1980 Sattler, P. W. Genetic relationship among selected species of North American Scaphiopus. Copeia 1980(4):605-610
1985 Sattler, P. W. Introgressive hybridization between the spadefoot toads Scaphiopus bombifrons and S. multiplicatus (Salientia: Pelobatidae). Copeia 1985:324-332
1991 Wiens, John J. and Tom A. Titus. A phylogenetic analysis of Spea (Anura: Pelobatidae). Herpetologica 47(1):21-28
2000 Maglia, Anne M. Phylogenetic Relationships of Pelobatoid Frogs (Anura: Pelobatoidea). Dissertation. University of Kansas, Lawrence, Kansas. pp.
2002 Buchholz, Daniel R. and Tyrone B. Hayes. Evolutionary patterns of diversity in spadefoot toad metamorphosis (Anura: Pelobatidae). Copeia 2002(1):180-189

THE CENTER FOR NORTH AMERICAN HERPETOLOGY — Accessed: Friday 05 December 2025 15:56 CT