45: Great Plains Toad

I write to you from Arapahoe, Ute, and Cheyenne land. I am interested in learning about the different animals that live in the place where I was born. I want to mention that biological classification as taught by western science has its roots in racism, sexism, and transphobia – here’s a good explainer about why.

Today’s animal was supposed to be the Great Basin Spadefoot, but turns out that they – as well as other Colorado wildlife the New Mexico Spadefoot and the Plains Spadefoot – are extremely similar to the Couch’s Spadefoot which we discussed back in newsletter #39. In fact they are similar to the point that they sometimes hybridize with each other and researchers are also still unclear if they are individual species. So I think we are going to declare that we have covered all the spadefoot toads of Colorado and move on to another amphibian – the Great Plains Toad (Anaxyrus cognatus).

These fellows have a remarkably large range, extending from the Canadian prairies into northern Mexico. They are quite big – they can grow to be 4.5” in length. They like to live in grassland with sandy, loose soil that they can burrow down into for protection from the temperature extremes of this interior continental ecosystem. They eat all kinds of insects and, fascinatingly, require only 11 to 22 feedings per year to survive (that amphibian metabolism would save me a lot of money at King Soopers!). Like many toads, they migrate in spring to return to their ancestral breeding grounds. And that… is all I know about the Great Plains Toad.

I did however find this pretty cool key to identifying every reptile and amphibian in Colorado, which is a fun read. I would like to get better at spotting these types of animals. Luckily the last page of the guide gives me some tips about where to look:

• Edges and shallows of lakes and ponds

• Marshes and other wetlands

• Creeks and margins of rivers

• Intermittent stream courses with permanent pools

• Pools that form after heavy rains or floods

• Rock outcrops

• Sandy prairies

• Plains and valleys with lots of rodent burrows

• Arroyos (dry gulches, washes)

• Debris on the ground near abandoned ranch or farm buildings

• Prairie dog towns (be alert for rattlesnakes)

So next time you’re near one of those, keep an eye out – I will be too.