3 Types of Toads Found in Alberta! (ID Guide)
“Don’t pick that up, you’ll get warts!”
If you’re anything like me, you heard this quite a few times growing up from a parent telling you to leave a toad alone. With their bumpy skin, staring eyes, and loud, insect-like calls, it’s understandable to be cautious around toads.
But luckily, it’s a myth that toads give people warts!
Today, you will learn about the different kinds of toads in Alberta.
A note on this list: Some of the species below are considered spadefoots, which are not technically toads. Spadefoots are a separate group of frogs that are closely related to toads. Because they are similar in so many ways, I am including them here. If you see a spadefoot, you may not even realize it’s not a true toad! I will outline the differences between toads and spadefoots later in the article.
#1. Western Toad
- Anaxyrus boreas
Identifying Characteristics:
- Adult length is 2-5 inches.
- Coloring can range from yellowish, tan, gray, or green with a pale stripe along the back. The Western Toad also has dark blotches with rust-colored edges and warts.
- Males have smoother, less blotchy skin than females.
As its name suggests, the Western Toad lives in the western part of the continent. It has a wide range of habitats, including desert streams and springs, forests, lakes and rivers, and backyard gardens with pools nearby.
Western Toad Rangemap:
Female Western Toads can lay up to 16,000 eggs at a time! They lay their eggs in long strings in shallow water.
Unlike other toads in Alberta, Western Toads don’t often hop!
Instead, they walk, picking up 1 or 2 legs at a time. You can see this unique movement below!
The Western Toad has a distinctive call that can be described as a high-pitched chirrup or chattering. Choruses of Western Toads tend to sound like flocks of geese in the distance.
#2. Great Plains Toad
- Anaxyrus cognatus
Identifying Characteristics:
- Adult length is 2-4 ½ inches.
- Coloring is pale white to tan or olive with large, dark-colored pairs of blotches down the back. Lighter tan or white belly.
- A crest on the head forms a “V” shape from the snout, moving outward on the head toward the back.
Great Plains Toads are found in southern Alberta living in temporary shallow pools, quiet streams, marshes, or irrigation ditches. They are most common in grasslands but also can be found in desert brush and woodland areas.
Great Plains Toad Rangemap:
There are only a few weeks out of the year that are suitable for the Great Plains Toad to feed and reproduce. Amazingly, they spend the rest of the year mostly dormant in underground burrows made by other animals.
Symmetrical dark splotches running down its back make the Great Plains Toad one of the easier toads to see, but you will probably hear one nearby long before you can spot it. Its call can last more than 50 seconds, and is similar to a jackhammer!
When large groups of Great Plains Toads are calling, the sound can be near-deafening.
SPADEFOOTS:
There are a few main differences between toads in Alberta, listed above, and Spadefoots, listed below.
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Spadefoots have vertical pupils like a snake, while toads have horizontal pupils.
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Their skin is much smoother and has very few or no warts.
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Their back feet have bony, sharp spades that are used for burrowing into soil, sand, or loose gravel.
#3. Plains Spadefoot
- Spea bombifrons
Identifying Characteristics:
- Adult length is 1 ¼-2 ½ inches.
- Coloring is gray-brown to greenish with orange spots, and the snout is distinctly rounded and protrudes like a pug dog.
- Spade is glossy, black, and wedge-shaped.
The Plains Spadefoot lives in plains, hills, and river bottoms in southern Alberta. They prefer loose sandy or gravelly soil for burrowing.
Plains Spadefoot Rangemap:
Plains Spadefoot’s can survive extreme temperature changes in Alberta.
It also can change its digestive system to tolerate a diet of vertebrates, insects, or plant matter.
The Plains Spadefoot’s call is very short and sharp, similar to the quack of a duck.
Do you need additional help identifying toads?
Try this field guide!
Which of these toads have you seen in Alberta?
Leave a comment below!
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