Scaphiopus couchii
| Couch's spadefoot toad | |
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| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Amphibia |
| Order: | Anura |
| Family: | Scaphiopodidae |
| Genus: | Scaphiopus |
| Species: | S. couchii |
| Binomial name | |
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Scaphiopus couchii Baird, 1854 |
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Couch's spadefoot toad or Couch's spadefoot (Scaphiopus couchii) is a species of North American spadefoot toad (family Scaphiopodidae). The specific epithet couchii is in honor of American naturalist Darius Nash Couch, who collected the first specimen while on a personal expedition to northern Mexico to collect plant, mineral, and animal specimens for the Smithsonian Institution.
Unlike other toads which have horizontal pupils, spadefoot toads have vertical pupils. On the underside of the hind foot is a hard, dark "spade" that gives spadefoot toads their name. These creatures can grow to be 3.5" in length. These "spades" are used by the toads to burrow into the ground to prevent water loss and hide from predators. There are two spadefoot species in the Sonoran Desert of Arizona and California. Couch's spadefoot toad (Scaphiopus couchi) has a sickle-shaped "spade", whereas the western spadefoot toad (Spea hammondii) has a rounded "spade". Spadefoots are not true toads and should therefore simply be called spadefoots.
Couch's spadefoot toad is native to the United States southwest of southeastern Colorado and central Oklahoma, northern Mexico and the Baja peninsula. They can be found throughout the Sonoran Desert, which includes parts of southern Arizona and California.
Water is a necessary medium for the fertilization of spadefoot eggs, and once the eggs hatch, water also provides a place for tadpoles to mature to the adult stage. Because of the importance of water, spadefoots are active during the wet season (spring and summer in the Northern Hemisphere), and remain underground during the dry season (fall and winter). When a summer thunderstorm arrives, the male toads emerge from underground and look for pools of rainwater. When they find water, the males produce a mating call that attracts female toads. Because the pools of water may be short-lived, mating occurs the first night after rainfall begins.
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Wikipedia