Stats

Lifespan

8-12 yrs

Size

Small

Diet

Insectivore

Activity

Nocturnal

Social

Solitary

Biome

Temperate forest

Range

Eastern North America

Movement

Burrowing

Breeding

Egg-laying

Defense

Burrowing

Status

Uncommon

About

The Eastern Spadefoot is a burrowing toad-like amphibian named for the hard, sharp-edged "spade" on each hind foot, which it uses to dig backward into sandy soil. It spends most of its life underground, emerging only after heavy rains to breed in temporary pools, sometimes triggered by a single night of thunderstorms.

Life cycle

1. 1.
   egg

   A jelly-coated egg is laid in water and develops over days into an aquatic larva.
2. 2.
   tadpole

   A gilled tadpole swims and grazes on algae, slowly absorbing its tail and growing limbs.
3. 3.
   juvenile

   A near-adult amphibian leaves the water with new legs and lungs, smaller than the mature form.
4. 4.
   adult

   Fully grown at adult size, breathing air.

Learn more

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Taxonomy

Kingdom

Animalia

Phylum

Chordata

Class

Amphibia

Order

Anura

Family

Scaphiopodidae

Genus

Scaphiopus

Species

Scaphiopus holbrookii