AMPHIBIA (Amphibians) ANURA (Frogs) BUFONIDAE (True Toads)
CHIHUAHUAN GREEN TOAD
Anaxyrus debilis
(Girard 1854)
ăn-ăx-ī'-rŭs — dĕb-ĭh'-lĭs
Conservation Status:
State: None
Federal: None
NatureServe State: S5 - Secure
NatureServe National: N5 - Secure
NatureServe Global: G5 - Secure
CITES: None
Diagnosis:
This is a small (1.25 - 1.75 inches), flat toad that has distinctive yellowish to bright green skin with black markings. The skin is roughened by small warts. Large parotoid glands are low, inconspicuous, and much longer than wide. Cranial crests are absent or poorly developed. The black markings on the back may for a reticulate pattern or they may be reduced to tiny spots. Males generally have black or dusky throats, whereas females have yellowish or white throats.
A Chihuahuan Green Toad is easily distinguished from all other toads in Oklahoma by its small size and green skin. The Red-spotted Toad may be the same size as a Chihuahuan Green Toad, but has round parotoid glands and does not have bright green skin with black markings. A Boreal Chorus Frog lacks warts.
Distribution:
Found in extreme southwestern Oklahoma, among the canyons of the Cimarron River in Cimarron County, and in the Arbuckle Mountains.Lives in arid, shortgrass-mesquite prairies and shortgrass-juniper woodlands, especially along valleys of small creeks or near fishless ponds.
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Occurrence Summary:
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303
Records
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303
Museum Vouchers
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0
Other Observations
Some county occurrences indicated below may be too imprecise to map above.
County Breakdown: County Name (# occurrences):
Beckham (34); Cimarron (60); Comanche (11); Cotton (8); Ellis (4); Garvin (2); Greer (50); Harmon (57); Jackson (28); Jefferson (3); Kiowa (7); Murray (2); Tillman (6); Unknown (31);
Natural History:
Easts small insects
Breeding occurs in temporary pools during or after rains. The male will sometimes call along the edges of pools at night and during the day. The call is a short, high-pitched, fast trill or buzz. Eggs are laid in ponds that frequently dry up; as an adaptation to this kind of habitat, a tadpole metamorphoses when it is less than 1/2 inch long..
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.
# Unique Obervations:
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Range:
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Interquartile range:
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Remarks:
This is a very secretive, nocturnal species rarely encountered by humans except during the breeding season. It is difficult to find and study because it is very alert, taking refuge under rocks and clumps of grass or flattening its body against the ground when disturbed. Also, its skin color allows it to blend into the surroundings. a few have been observed in southwestern Oklahoma in gypsum caves.
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1940
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Bragg, Arthur N. Key to the toads (Bufo) of Oklahoma. Proceedings of the Oklahoma Academy of Science 21():17-18
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