Fowler's Toad - Bufo fowleri

• Diagnostic Features:
  • Size: 2 to 3.25 inches (50 to 82 mm)
  • Color:
    • Brown, gray, or more rarely, greenish or brick red
  • Other:
    • Ventral surface light colored without spots
    • Three or more warts in the largest dark spots
    • No greatly enlarged warts on the tibia
    • Middorsal stripe present
  • Sexual Dimorphism:
    • Males have a Dark throat
    • Males smaller than females
  • Similar species:
    • 
• Natural History:
  • Habitat:
    • This frog's habitat varies widely from mountain wilderness to urban areas. Moist areas are required for shelter, and pools or small bodies of water are necessary for breeding.
  • Behavior:
    • It is nocturnal and feeds on insects and other invertebrates. It hibernates in cold weather by burrowing into the soil.
  • Breeding:
    • Breeding occurs from March to mid-August, normally later than B.americanus.
    • Ponds, lakes, streams
    • The female lays two long strings of eggs in the water.
    • About 7,000 eggs
• Voice: Sonogram - Call ( Whitfield, Polk, & Madison Counties )
  • Harsh musical trill
  • "w-a-a-a-h"
  • Trill rate: 30-40 trills/second
  • Calls from ditches, temporary pools, or shallow margins of permanent bodies of water
  • Round vocal sac
    
• Tadpoles:
  • Tadpole stage: 30 - 60 days
  • Transformed Size: 8 - 11 mm
  • 
  • LTRF 2/3; P-3 long, P-2/P-3 < 2.0;
  • dorsum of tail muscle uniformly pale or dark, rarely broken with contrasting areas but never banded, even in preserved specimens; or, lower white part of bicolored tail ca. 50% of basal muscle height;
  • spiracle on longitudinal axis;
  • snout blunt, turns quickly in front of eyes;
  • coloration variable, small specimens appear black, large specimens with abundant silver to brassy iridophores that impart a frosted or mottled appearance;
  • length of one side of A-2/width of medial gap > 4.5; P-2/P-3 ca. 1.6;
  • lentic sites throughout most of designated area except southeastern Coastal Plain and Florida peninsula, breeds later than B. americanus
• Range:
  • In North America, this toad is found from central New England to the Gulf Coast and west to Michigan, northwest Arkansas, and eastern Louisiana. Absent from the southern part of the Atlantic Coastal Plain and most of Florida
  • In Georgia, Bufo fowleri is found primarily in the northern part of the state. Above the fall line.

    

  • In Light Blue: Williamson, Gerald K. & Moulis, Robert A., Distribution of Amphibians and Reptiles in Georgia, Special Publication No. 3, Savannah Science Museum, Inc. Savannah, Georgia, 1994
  • In Green: Sound Recordings
  • In Yellow: From Both '94 study and Sound Recordings
  • In Magenta: Photograph, not found by '94, may or may not be sound record
  • In Medium Blue: Photograph and in '94 study, may or may not be sound record 
  • In Orange: County Record by other Herp Atlas Volunteers
  • In Red: US Distribution from various sources

September 9, 2006 - wwknapp@mindspring.com