Distribution:
Known from the eastern three-fourths of the state, apparently avoiding much of the Western Plains. The record for Hamilton County (UIMNH 62332, from 1955) is in need of corroboration, although it is somewhat supported by specimens just to the west into Colorado. Specimens from the vicinity of the Cimarron River in southeastern Colorado (Hammerson, 1999) indicate that this species may be more widespread in southwest Kansas than is currently known.
(,   Museum Voucher) (,   Observation) (,   Literature Record) (,   iNat Record), (  Fossil)
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• Occurrence Summary:  
• 1,605
  Records 
• 1,480
  Museum Vouchers 
• 125
  Other Observations 

Some county occurrences indicated below may be too imprecise to map above.
County Breakdown: County Name (# occurrences):
Allen (3); Anderson (47); Atchison (2); Barber (26); Barton (5); Bourbon (8); Butler (14); Chase (47); Chautauqua (34); Cherokee (8); Clark (8); Clay (7); Cloud (2); Comanche (12); Cowley (28); Crawford (1); Dickinson (13); Doniphan (5); Douglas (324); Edwards (1); Elk (23); Ellis (58); Ellsworth (15); Finney (10); Ford (6); Franklin (11); Geary (17); Gove (1); Gray (2); Greenwood (21); Hamilton (1); Harper (10); Harvey (2); Hodgeman (1); Jackson (3); Jefferson (46); Jewell (9); Johnson (14); Kiowa (3); Labette (7); Lane (2); Leavenworth (15); Lincoln (7); Linn (1); Lyon (1); Marion (3); Marshall (31); McPherson (7); Meade (5); Miami (2); Mitchell (1); Montgomery (14); Morris (4); Neosho (10); Ness (1); Osage (1); Osborne (9); Ottawa (1); Pawnee (2); Pottawatomie (52); Pratt (6); Reno (4); Republic (3); Rice (2); Riley (135); Rooks (6); Rush (21); Russell (152); Saline (22); Sedgwick (21); Seward (1); Shawnee (17); Smith (4); Sumner (21); Trego (9); Unknown (6); Wabaunsee (106); Washington (10); Wilson (20); Woodson (11); Wyandotte (4);

Fossil History:
Not known from Kansas.

Natural History:
This small amphibian is commonly found beneath rocks on open grassy slopes in April. In his intensive study of this amphibian in northeastern Kansas, Fitch (1956) found that it preferred a dry, rocky upland area in open woods or woodland edge but reported that it was tolerant of a wide variety of habitats, including river floodplains and cultivated fields. During early March in Ellis County, Travis Taggart (pers. comm., 1992; Collins 1993) found 20 examples of this toad beneath a large flat limestone rock situated vertically against a shale embankment devoid of vegetation. Where surface rocks are not available to hide under, this species may use rodent burrows. This frog is very secretive and spends most of its life beneath the ground. It is much less tolerant of cold temperatures than other amphibians in Kansas, and its activity season (April to early October) is shorter than that of some Kansas reptiles. The Western Narrowmouth Toad is nocturnal, preferring to emerge from beneath the ground on humid or rainy nights when air temperatures are between 62° and 77°F. Freiburg (1951), working in the same region as Fitch, described the preferred habitat of this species as being beneath flat limestone rocks which have good drainage, loose soil, and few twigs or leaves.
Fitch (1956) reported that the Western Narrowmouth Toad is an opportunistic breeder. Sufficient rainfall and temperatures between May and August will initiate breeding. Males may engage in breeding at least twice in one season. After rain, these small amphibians migrate to temporary pools and the males begin to chorus, normally at night. Their call sounds like the metallic bleat of a sheep and lasts 1-5 seconds.
Caldwell and Glass (1977) reported a chorus of 15 -20 males of this amphibian at temporary pools in Woodson County on 24 June. Collins (1993) recorded a chorus of the Western Narrowmouth Toad around a lake in Barber County on 11 May. Heinrich and Kaufman (1985) heard a chorus of about 25 male frogs at the Konza Prairie near Manhattan on 10 June.
The male mounts a female and clasps her behind the front legs with his forelimbs. Egg-laying occurs a day or two after the frogs have reached the breeding pool. A single female may produce up to 600 eggs, which hatch in two days. The free-swimming tadpoles metamorphose into adults in 20- 30 days and disperse from the breeding site at the first rainfall. Caldwell and Glass (1977) observed tiny tadpoles of this species on 24 June in Woodson County. They returned to the same site on 20 July and found tadpoles nearing metamorphosis. Sexual maturity is reached within one or two years.
The Western Narrowmouth Toad feeds almost exclusively on ants. Tanner (1950) found only ant remains in excrement from this species collected in Riley, Douglas, Geary, and Pottawatomie counties. Brumwell (1951) found only ants in the stomachs of twelve of these amphibians in Leavenworth County. Freiburg (1951) examined the stomachs of 52 specimens from Douglas County and found mostly ants plus some beetle fragments.
Freiburg (1951) list several associates found under rocks and logs with Western Narrow-mouthed Toads, including many invertebrates and the following amphibians and reptiles: Great Plains Skink (Plestiodon obsoletus), Common Five-lined Skink (Plestiodon fasciatus), Blanchard's Cricket Frog (Acris crepitans), American Toad (Anaxyrus americanus), and Plains Leopard Frog (Lithobates blairi). Where they co-occur in southern Kansas (Montgomery/Wilson counties west to Clark County), with Texas Brown Tarantulas (Aphonopelma hentzi), these two seemingly unlikely associates are often found together under large rocks (Dundee, 1999; Dundee et al. 2012; Zamani et al. 2024), the nature of this symbiotic association  (e.g., mutualism, commensalism, etc.) is unknown.
Freiburg (1951) reported predation on a Western Narrow-mouthed Toad by a young Eastern Copperhead (Agkistrodon contortrix). Fitch (1956) reported predation on this species in Kansas by shrews, Bullfrogs, Leopard Frogs, and young Copperheads. Taggart (1992) observed predation of a Western Narrowmouth Toad by a Western Ribbon Snake in Chase County.

Occurrence Activity:
Number of Unique Obervations (=days): 175; Range: 15 Mar to 07 Nov

Chorusing:

Audio recording by Keith Coleman.

Chorusing Phenology: The black outlined dots denote the Julian date (day of the year; 1 January = 1 to 31 December = 365) an observation was made. The thin red line depicts the range of dates between the beginning of the first, and end of the fourth quartile (excluding outliers; Tukey method). The thick light blue bar represents the second and third quartile (interquartile range; the middle 50% of all observations). Only one observation per Julian date is included in the graphs; so a date with multiple observations carries the same weight as a date with only one observation. The vertical bars correspond to the 12 months of the year; January through December.
Number of Unique Obervations: 95; Range: 07 Apr to 31 Jul; Interquartile range: 02 Jun to 01 Jul;

Remarks:
First reported from Kansas in the original description by American herpetologist and physician Edward Hallowell in 1856. The type locality was taken from the title of the article as "Kansas and Nebraska". The specimen the description was based on was collected by William A. Hammond, a military physician stationed at Fort Riley (Geary/Riley County). The Western Narrow-mouthed Toad enters Nebraska along the Blue and Republican rivers, but in neither instance has it been found more than eight miles into the state. Smith and Taylor (1950) restricted the type locality to Fort Riley, Geary County, Kansas. Restricted type localities carry no weight in nomenclatural priority. The earliest extant specimen (KU 9904) was collected near Hackberry Creek at Oswego, Labette County, on 9 July 1915.
The Western Narrow-mouthed Toad is most readily observed while it is chorusing during late spring and into summer. Over most of its range in Kansas, its bleating call is easily distinguished from other frogs. However, unlike other species of Kansas frogs, both the Western and Eastern Narrow-mouthed Toads are commonly turned up under rocks in April and May.